Price of admission
by Axis29
Summary: It hasn't been long since the summer festival yet everything appears to be the same as they were between Nishikata and Takagi. Looks however, can be somewhat deceiving. Maybe a little not so friendly competition between him and some friends can help him realize what his confusing feelings actually mean.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so, this is my first story in a very long time and my first fanfiction for this anime in general. That's ... not all that important so I'll just skip to the other important bits. At the time of publishing, I have already posted this story is already on wattpad, and the updates there will come faster than here (roughly the same day though). That's about all I really wanted to say so ... lets begin**

* * *

_'Damn, she's teased me at least fifteen times already and school hasn't even started yet.'_ Nishikata thought to himself with an annoyed look on his face. _'And I haven't been able to think up an idea to get back at her yet.'_ He finished putting his school shoes on then placed his other shoes into his locker. 'If only there were some way to get her to drop her guard.'

"Hey Nishikata." Takagi greeted causing Nishikata's heart to skip a beat as he jumped back surprised. "You ready to head to class?"

"I uh." He turned away and narrowed his eyes in shame. "I need to use the bathroom first, I'll meet you there.

"Okay then, see you in class." Takagi walked ahead as Nishikata placed a hand on his chest to get his heart rate back to normal; it had been a few weeks since the summer festival, yet the strange feeling Nishikata sometimes got when he was around Takagi, that normally only lasted maybe a few seconds, had only become more frequent and was now lasting for upwards of a few minutes.

_'Damn it, why am I still feeling like this?'_ He thought as he made his way to the boys bathroom. _'It's making it harder and harder to try and get back at her.'_ He turned on the faucet and splashed some water in his face. "Takagi has no exploitable weaknesses and this damn feeling makes it harder and harder to even talk to her when it comes up." He splashed some more water in his face and sighed. "Easy there, I just need something big, some big event where I can catch her off guard." He paused and placed a hand on his chest. "Or maybe I should try to figure out what's going on with me first."

"Hey Nishikata." Came a voice from close by. Nishikata looked around and saw his friend Nakai come out of a nearby stall. "Didn't come in here to use the bathroom, I take it?"

"No I'm just ... thinking."

"About Takagi?"

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Nishikata snapped as he turned to Nakai. "For the millionth time, we're not going out and I don't like her that way!"

The look on Nakai's face went from calm to confused. "Huh? But the two of you went to the summer festival together, didn't you?"

"Neither of us had plans so I figured I might as well ask." Nishikata said as he turned back to face the mirror. "Plus, she kinda hinted that she wanted me to ask her so ... I did."

"I heard that you guys looked like an actual couple while there."

A look of annoyance appeared on Nishikata face as he clenched his fist. "We made a game where I would win if I could do romantic stuff couples do on dates."

"Did you win?"

"No, even though Takagi said that I didn't lose, it didn't feel like I one-upped her."

"You sure you two aren't going out?"

"YES I'M SURE!" He snapped again.

"Okay, okay, take it easy." Nakai said as he raised his hands in defense. "Oh, by the way, you wouldn't happen to have any spare tickets for that concert this Friday, would you?"

"Huh? A concert?"

"You haven't heard? There's a concert this Friday and Mano really REALLY wants to go, so I've been trying to get tickets, but I can't seem to find them anywhere."

"Huh ... a concert ... who's playing?"

"Not sure but according to Mano, a band called Earphones are going to be performing there."

"Are you serious?" Nishikata asked as he turned to Natai. "Takagi loves their songs ... or at least some of the songs one of them made ... she'd love to see that." A smile appeared on his face as an idea popped into his head. _'And it'll be the perfect place to get her to drop her guard.'_

He glanced over to Nakai who was giving him a concerned look. "And you're sure the two of you aren't going out?"

"I'm sure!" He paused as a feeling of unease came over him. "You said you couldn't find any tickets?"

"None, they sold out a while ago."

Nishikata hung his head in despair. "Well there goes that plan." _'Not that I even had much of a plan yet.'_

"Well, if you find any extras, let me know okay? I think Mano's been dropping hints that she really wants to go."

"Sure thing."

"Thank Nishikata." Nakai walked out of the bathroom leaving Nishikata alone to think.

"Well, it would have been a good idea ... but would embarrassing her during the concert be a step too far?" He froze as an uncomfortable realization hit him. _'Not to mention this feeling I've been getting. I'd be lucky to get out of there with my dignity intact. Not to mention people will start to think we're definitely a couple.'_

He sighed and began walking out of the bathroom. "Still, it is a good idea ... maybe if I can find tickets I'll put more thought into it."

He continued on his way to the class where most of the other students had already arrived, including his class mate Takagi.

"Hey Nishikata." She greeted. "You were gone for so long I thought you had fallen in."

"I wasn't gone that long." He said as he took his seat next to her.

"Yeah, I know. So, did you get cooled off?"

Nishikata looked confused as Takagi slowly started laughing. It took him a moment to realize that his uniform was wet around his neck from when he splashed water on his face. "Oh shut up, I'll have you know it's still technically summer and it's hot out."

"You sure it wasn't from thinking about cute girls too much?"

"I SAID STOP IT!"

Takagi burst into laughter as Nishikata turned away in embarrassment. 'Just you wait Takagi, I'm going to think up the perfect revenge.'

"Hey, Nishikata." Takagi said causing Nishikata to look over at her. She was resting the side of her head on her desk and looking at him with that adorable smile she usually uses. "Ever since the summer festival, I've been thinking, we should really hang out more outside of school."

A blush began to form on Nishikata face as an all too familiar feeling overcame him.

"It'd be nice to have more chances to tease you while we're not at school." Takagi burst into laughter as Nishikata turned away in embarrassment.


	2. Chapter 2

**So I've managed another chapter today, I hope you enjoy. Before I forget, someone asked about a link to the version on Wattpad, I can't post the link due to ... this sight not liking links, but I can tell you that it has the same name that this one has now (Conflicted), and I have the same username there as I do here (Axis28). Until then, I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

The day had continued more or less the same as it usually did, and Nishikata was making his way to the schoolyard to eat lunch with some of his friends; something he was grateful for, as lunch was one of the few times during school he normally didn't spend with Takagi.

"Hey guys." He greeted as he took a seat with them. At the table were his friends Kimura, Takao, and Hamaguchi, the last of which hadn't been sitting with them for the past few days. "Welcome back Hamaguchi, what have you been up to?"

Hamaguchi sighed as he hung his head. "Trying to work up the courage to ask Houjou if she wanted to eat lunch with me."

"And failing I take it?" Takao asked as he fixed his glasses.

"I don't see you doing much better with your crush." Hamaguchi retorted.

Takao slammed his hands onto the table. "That's none of your business." He paused and turned to Nishikata. "Oh, speaking of which, Nishikata, I've been meaning to ask, why aren't you eating with your girlfriend?"

Nishikata froze as he was pulling out his lunch, and slowly his expression became more and more annoyed. "How many times do I have to say that TAKAGI AND I AREN'T GOING OUT?!"

"Then how did you know I was talking about her?" Takao asked with a smug smile.

"Because ever since school started back up, everyone has been referring to Takagi and I as a couple, or going out, or boyfriend and girlfriend, so who else would you be talking about?" He pulled out his lunch and set it on the table, still with an annoyed look on his face. "Can we please talk about something else?"

"You have something in mind?" Asked Kimura as he took another bite of his sandwich.

Nishikaka paused, remembering his conversation with Nakai earlier. "Hey, you guys heard about a concert this Friday?"

"Yeah." Hamaguchi began. "What of it?"

"Well I heard it was sold out, but was wondering if anyone knew where I could get my hands on some tickets."

"And why might that be?" Takao asked with another smug smile.

"Well-" Nishikata stopped dead in his tracks as he realized what he was about to say._ 'I can't tell them I'm trying to get them so I can get back at Takagi, they'll think I'm trying to go out with her again.'_ "I was ... interested?" There was an awkward silence at the table as everyone looked at Nishikata, unconvinced of his obvious lie.

After a moment more, Hamaguchi sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I wish, I've been trying to get my hands on a pair so I could ask Houjou to go with me. Concerts are real mature, I'm sure she would be all for it."

"Actually." Kimura began, still eating his sandwich. "I heard that the convenience store near the school is actually selling some for students only." Everyone's attention quickly turned to Kimura. "It's supposed to be a special or something, but they don't open until a little after lunch though. I also hear that there's a limit to two per person."

"That's perfect!" Nishikata exclaimed. "That means there should be plenty left over when school lets out!"

"Maybe, unless others get there during their free period."

"Still, it's worth a shot."_ 'And I can start thinking on how I can pull one over on Takagi.'_

"And do you plan on keeping this a secret from Takagi?" Kimura asked causing Nishikata's expression to go from confident to concerned. "According to what you've said, that girl can pretty much read your mind."

"Well no, there's no real reason to-" He froze mid sentence as he realized everyone was staring at him again. "I MEAN ... I ... can't really go and not invite her, she'd be furious when she found out." A shiver ran down Nishikata's spine. "And that's one side of her that I don't want to encounter."

"I guess that's a fair point." Takao said. "But do you have enough money?"

"Yeah, I should have just enough." 'I just have to remember to not challenge Takagi to anything today, if I lost then I would undoubtedly have to get her a juce. I don't think I have enough money for that and two tickets.' "Anyway, can we talk about something other than me and Takagi?"

"You're the one that brought it up." Hamaguchi said as he leaned back and rested his palms on the back of his head.

"Yeah, I know."

"Hey, did you guys hear about that new game that's coming out Friday?" Kimura asked.

Elsewhere in the schoolyard, Takagi was also talking and eating lunch with her friend Sumire Takagawa.

"You know, I wonder what they're talking about over there." Takagawa asked as she looked over to where Nishikata and his friends were sitting.

"Oh, they're probably teasing Nishikata about how he spends so much time with me. Then Nishikata probably tried to change the subject while denying any feelings he has towards me."

Takagawa looked over to Takagi and sulked. "Man, you know him so well, don't you."

"Well, he is easy to read, but in this instance, it's been a recurring thing for a while, so it's kinda obvious."

Takagawa sighed and turned away. "I'm so jealous of you sometimes, you know your crush inside and out, and you can turn any challenge he throws at you on it's head."

Takagi laughed, then looked over to where Nishikata and his friends were sitting. They looked like they were talking about something they found interesting and Takagi couldn't help but smile.

"Hey." Takagawa began. "Do you ever get worried that you might ... uh ..." She paused as she struggled to find the words. "Push Nishikata away with all the teasing you do?"

"I try to keep it playful but ... that's just one of the things I like about him; he always comes back, so confident, ready to challenge me again. Actually, if he wasn't always so nervous, he'd probably win a lot more."

"Or at all."

"Oh, he's won a few, though most of them he probably doesn't accept as victories ... and a few I didn't expect, but he doesn't know about."

"Oh, he actually did something that you didn't expect? That sounds interesting."

"Let's just say he landed a critical hit and leave it at that."

Takagawa looked at her confused, as their friends Mina, Yukari, and Sanae approached. "Takagi! Takagawa!" Mina exclaimed as the three of them sat down with them. "Ah, it's so much more fun to eat with friends!


	3. Chapter 3

**So I have an important note that I have to bring up here, I have decided to stop using the honorifics due to them taking up a lot of my time and slowing down my writing by a significant margin. And by that, I mean I have to look up what one I need to use almost every time I need to use them (also, they kinda sound strange when paired with English when they're not subtitles). To that end, to maintain continuity, I have gone back and changed the previous chapters as well. I hope you understand. Now toi tackle the reviews because that's something I still do.**

**powers: Thank you, I really appreciate it.**

* * *

The rest of the day seemed to drag on as Nishikata thought about nothing but how to get to the convenience store as fast as he could. '_Most likely Takagi will want us to walk home together, I'm going to have to turn her down if she asks.' _At the thought of that, Nishikata felt a cold sensation in his chest that caused him to grab his shirt. '_I'm doing this to get the best chance to get one over on her, it's well worth losing a smaller opportunity.' _The coldness in his chest waned a little, and he breathed a sigh of relief. '_Good, now I need to get ready, the bell can ring any second now.' _He looked over to the clock to see that the bell was, in fact, about to ring at any moment. '_If I walk to fast, I could get in trouble for running in the hall, thankfully I'll be able to run when I get out of the school, and then it's-'_

"Nishikata?" Takagi asked interrupting his thought process. "You wanna walk home together today?"

Nishikata slowly turned to look at her as the strange feeling began to overtake him once again. "I … I can't, I promised a friend I'd meet them later after school."

"Hm?" She asked with a curious look on her face. "You must have big plans if you're that anxious to hang out with them."

"Huh?"

Takagi pointed to his leg, which he just noticed was bouncing up and down.

"Oh, yeah." He scratched the back of his head and tried to smile to hide the fact that he was lying. "There's … a new video game that he wants me to try and it sounds like a lot of fun." '_I can't tell her I'm going to get concert tickets; I need to make it look like I just happen to get them, otherwise she'll suspect I'm planning something.'_

She looked at him with a disappointed expression. "That's a lie."

"Ack!" The bell rang signaling the end of the school day, and Nishikata grabbed his bag and bolted to his feet. "I'msorrywecanwalkhometogethertomorrowby!" He blurted out before bolting for the door, then rounding a corner into the hall.

He was lucky there weren't many teachers there, and he was able to quickly get to his locker and change his shoes with ease. '_I'm amazed at how well this is going.' _He began running again with his eyes focused on the door. '_But I can't let my guard down if I'm to get these tickets!' _As soon as he was out of the school, he bolted towards the convenience. '_All that exercise is paying off again, at this rate I'll be sure to get there before they sell out!'_

He ran as fast as he could, and as soon as he reached his destination, he jumped inside and looked around until he found the counter with a sign advertising the concert. '_There'_

He rushed over and slammed his hand on the counter. "I'd like to buy two tickets for the concert this Friday please!" Time seemed to slow down for a moment, at first he felt victorious, but he quickly realized that his voice wasn't the only one that uttered those words. '_Don't tell me-' _He looked to his right to see Hamaguchi, also with his hand on the counter looking just as surprised as he was, and on his left was Takao with the same expression. '_This feels like it's going to quickly become an issue.' _"Uh, so I think that's … six total?"

The woman behind the counter gave a nervous smile. "That's … going to be a problem … there's only three left."

"Only three?!" Takao asked incredulously.

"That's not going to be enough for all of us." Hamaguchi said as he looked down.

"That's not even going to be enough for two of us." Takao added.

"But how's that possible!?" Nishikata exclaimed. "School ended less than five minutes ago!"

Hamaguchi began scratching his chin. "Some kids must have come in while sick or snuck out during free period after lunch.".

Nishikata growled in frustration. "Well, are there any more in the back?"

"These _were _the ones in the back, we thought we sold out hours ago but we managed to find three more."

'_Figures.' _Nishikata thought to himself. '_The best opportunity to get back at Takagi isn't going to come easy, I need to convince everyone else to give me the tickets.' _"Hey, guys, I think since I got here first-"

"What are you talking about Nishikata!?" Hamaguchi exclaimed. "I totally got here before you."

"I'm the fastest in our grade, that's not possible." Nishikata retorted.

"My last class for the day was right around the entrance to the school, I even saw you on my heels as I got to the counter."

"No, I got here fir-" He paused mid sentence and turned to face Takao. "Wait a second, how did you get here so fast?"

"I uh …" Takao began as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, class ended while I was in the bathroom so I was closer to the exit."

"You mean you snuck out before school ended?" Nishitaka asked with a disbelieving expression.

"You can't prove that." Takao said. "Anyway, I need them more than any of you."

"And how's that?" Hamaguchi asked.

"Both of you are practically already dating your crush, I need this to get closer to mine."

"Wait," Nishikata began as he began to blush. "What do you mean by … practically dating?"

"Don't play dumb, I mean you and Takagi."

"For the absolute last time TAKAGI AND I ARE NOT-"

"I need these way more that you do!" Hamaguchi interrupted. "I can use this chance to finally make Houjou and myself official, it's my best chance."

"I'm never going to have another chance like this either!" Nishikata exclaimed. "Being at the concert might be the only time when Takagi would drop her guard, so it'll be the only time I can get back at herr for teasing me all the time!"

"Even if we were to believe you, what plan do you have to accomplish that?" Hamaguchi asked.

"I … I haven't thought that part out just yet." Nishikata began grinding his teeth as he looked down and to the left. "But I have a few days, I can think up a prank, or contest or-"

"Contest?" Hamaguchi asked intrigued.

"Yeah, she always finds a way to best me or outsmart me … this might just be the only chance I get."

"I have an idea then." Hamaguchi began. "We could simply have a competition of our own to see who gets the tickets." Both of the other boys looked at Hamaguchi surprised, yet intrigued. "It's the fairest way to settle this, don't you agree?"

Takao pushed Nishikata to the side and walked closer to Hamaguchi. "What would we be doing?"

"Simple really." He said with a smile. "We all want to take a girl with us to the concert." He paused and looked to Nishikata. "For one reason or another. So to insure that they don't go to waste, we have to ask out the person we wish to take with us first."

"NOW HOLD ON!" Takao shouted. "This contest is heavily ridged in both of your favors."

"That's why each of us also has something else we have to do to make it fair."

"Like what?" Nishikata asked.

Hamaguchi face showed a mix of shock and concern. "That I … don't know yet."

"Then how about this." Nishikata began as he raised a finger. "You have to ask Houjou out as a date, not just to hang out as friends or something, and you can't even mention the concert to her until she says yes."

Hamaguchi became terrified at Nishitaka's suggestion. "You … you can't be serious?"

"It has to be fair, right?" Nishikata asked confidently.

"It sounds fair to me." Takao added.

"Fine then!" Hamaguchi exclaimed. "Then you have to be holding Takagi's hand, and ask her out."

Nishikata's face went bright red as his jaw dropped. "How … how can I even prove that I accomplished that?"

Takao scratched his chin and began to think. "Well, we could have a ref, and it would be rather straightforward for Hamaguchi to prove he asked Houjou out, and Nishikata could just be holding Takagi's hand when he collects the tickets. But who would we ask?"

"Uh-" Came a voice from behind them. As soon as they turned around, they noticed that Yukari was standing right behind them. "I don't know what you guys are arguing about, but could you hurry up so I can get my ticket?"

Nishikata and the others shared a knowing smile as Nishitaka turned back to the woman behind the register. "I think each of us will be buying one mam."

"Finally." She said under her breath.

After each of them bought their ticket, they moved to the side as Yukari moved up to the register. "Hi, I'd like-"

"Sorry, those three bought the last three."

Yukari's expression went from hopeful to devastated in the span of about one second. "You … can't be serious."

"Why do you think they were arguing for so long?" The woman asked.

Yukari looked over to the three boys, looking at them in disbelief. "I … how?"

Nishikata held up the ticket he bought and looked at her. "Would you be willing to help us with our contest? We'll give you one ticket if you do."

Yukari's eyes lit up as she walked over to them. "Wait, really?"

"Yup, free of charge."

He handed her the ticket and she looked at it for a moment before looking back up at Nishikata. "What do I have to do?"

Nishikata looked at Takao and Hamaguchi and motioned for them to hand their tickets over. "Simply give two of these tickets to whichever of us comes to you with the girl we're taking to the concert Friday."

Yukari's face lit up with delight. "Oh that's so romantic! Three boys fighting it out for the chance to go on a romantic date with the girl of their dreams!"

"I'M NOT DATING-"

"Wait a second." Yukari interrupted as she turned to face Takao. "I can tell who Nishikata and Hamaguchi want to go to the concert with, but what about you Takao?" She asked. "I mean it wouldn't be very fair if I didn't know who you had to show up with."

Takao looked confused for only a moment before a look of utter terror overcame him. "Uh … I'm starting to have second thoughts about having her as our ref"

"Wait a second." Nishikata began as he looked towards Takao. "Who … _is _your crush?"

Takao looked away as his face turned bright red. "It's … not really that important, is it?"

"He has a crush on Tsukimoto." Hamaguchi blurted out.

There was a moment of dead silence as Yukari processed Hamaguchi's words, and within seconds, she burst into laughter. "You mean Sanae? Are you serious?"

"What's the big idea!" Takao snapped.

"Well she needs to know who your crush is so that we can have a fair game, right?"

Takao turned to Yukari. "You can't tell anyone! EVER! In fact this whole contest has to stay a secret!"

"Huh?" Yukari stopped laughing and looked at Takao. "Why's that?"

"Because it would make it unfair, Nishikata could just walk up to Takagi and say, 'hey, I can win us a pair of concert tickets if you walk with me, or Hamaguchi could do something similar with Houjou."

"Oh, I see."

"So if anyone talks about this contest then they are disqualified!" He turns and faces the other two. "So, are we all in agreement?"

"Sure thing." Hamaguchi said as he clenched his fist.

Nishikata nodded. "May the best man win."


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi there friends, so I have another chapter ready and am posting it. Funny story though, I'm currently 9 chapters ahead of the post scheduled, that is to say, I have 9 more than I need finished with the first step. I probibly shouldn't be saying this, but honestly, I need to think about posting at a faster rate ... what do you guys think?**

* * *

After explaining the rest of the rules to Yukari, the group went their separate ways, each trying to think up some form of strategy for how to win the contest. '_All I need to do is be holding Takagi's hand, that shouldn't be too hard.' _Nishikata thought to himself as he walked down the sidewalk. '_Then again-' _As he thought about it, the strange feeling within him began to surface once more. '_Damn it, I need to take care of this damn feeling first, otherwise I won't be able to do something when we actually get to the concert.' _

"Hey Nishikata." Came Takagi's voice from up ahead.

Nishikata looked up and, sure enough, there she was, as if waiting for him. '_Why am I surprised at this point?' _He thought to himself. "Hey … Takagi."

"So." She began as she walked up to him. "Did you manage to get your hands on some of those concert tickets."

"Huh?" Nishikata asked trying to hide his panic. "W-what do you mean?"

"You're easy to read on any day, but this was especially obvious, what with how fast you ran from the classroom. Also I found you here of all places." She said as she leaned closer to him. "So? They were sold out, weren't they?"

Nishitaka was nervous as he tried to avoid eye contact. '_Damn, I can't tell her about the contest … and she might be able to tell if I'm lying … wait, I'm not lying.' _"Yeah, no, I wasn't able to get one today, apparently they sold out quite some time ago."

"Is that so?" She said as she tilted her head. "Well, in any case, you want to walk home together?"

"Huh?" Nishikata shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away. "Yeah, sure."

Nearby, Hamaguchi was watching as they departed together before leaving in the other direction. "Asking Houjou out before this Friday shouldn't be that difficult, the real challenge is going to be asking her out before Nishikata can work up the courage to hold Takagi's hand. Though if I'm worrying about that then I might as well be worried about Takao, he literally has it the easiest but he's the biggest coward. Now I don't want to sabotage my friends, but … I need to think of something to give me some more time."

He sighed and crossed his arms. "Man, this is going to be harder than I thought."

Back with the others, Nishikata and Takagi were making their way home in relative silence. '_Today's Monday so that leaves me with the rest of today, tomorrow, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday until school ends, or rather when Takagi and I part ways on our walk home. Now when I get home I'm going to need to finish my homework first, no point in any of this if I'm grounded. That shouldn't take too long though, so what should I tackle after that?' _He looked down at Takagi's hand which was right next to his. '_It's so close.' _His heart rate shot up as he adjusted his collar. '_Why is this so hard? It's just Takagi … no, Takagi's not 'just' anything. I need to get to the bottom of what's happening to me, the ever present question though, is how?'_

"Nishikata?" Takagi asked interrupting his thought process. "You've been awfully quiet, normally by now, you would have thought up some challenge or game."

"Oh, right, well … for some reason I can't seem to think of anything." He scratched the back of his head and smiled. "It's actually bothering me a lot."

"Uh-huh." She said not sounding too convinced. "Why don't you tell me what's really going on?"

"I … uh." Nishikata froze as he tried to hide the panic on his face. "Well … I …" '_Damn it, what do I tell her?' _He continued to think in silence as Takagi gave him a disappointed look.

"Nishikata, what are you hiding?"

"I … I ... I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!" He blurted out before quickly walking ahead.

Takagi stood there for a moment before catching up to him. "Is everything all right?"

"Kinda." Nishikata said as he looked away.

"It's not something serious, is it?"

"Not necessarily."

"You know you can tell me anything."

Nishikata looked at Takagi's face and saw how concerned she looked. '_Yeah right, even if it was something I could talk about, you'd probably just make fun of me.'_

"You know I wouldn't make fun of you for something that's causing you trouble."

Nishikata slowly turned back to look at Takagi as he began to blush; the concern of her face looked genuine, and he knew that she wouldn't lie to him. "I …" He quickly turned away from her but as he did, he noticed the vending machine that they always stopped at up ahead, and got an idea. "Hey, how about a contest?" He said as he stopped walking.

"A contest?" She asked.

"Yeah, well, more of a bet, see that vending machine up there?" He asked as he pointed ahead of them. "Before we see what's sold out and what's not, we each choose one drink and if it's there, the other has to buy it for them." '_This is perfect.' _Nishikata thought to himself. '_I only had to pay for one ticket so I have plenty left over for juice.'_

"Mmmm … our usual stakes?"

"Huh? No! Just the juice."

"That's very simple, and luck dependent."

"I know."

"Plus, there's the chance that both of us win, or neither of us win, that doesn't seem like something you'd come up with."

"Well … like I said, I'm having trouble coming up with a good idea today."

She stood in front of him and examined his face as he tried to look away. "Well your not lying … but you're still keeping something from me." She closed her eyes and shrugged before turning around. "But, at least I know that something is up, and I'm sure you'll tell me when your ready."

"When I'm … ready?" He replied nervously.

"By the way, I'm choosing grape."

Nishikata let out a sigh as Takagi reached the vending machine. '_Great, because this wasn't complicated enough. Forget about winning, I'll be lucky if I don't die from a heart attack.' _"I'll just chose apple."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, is there something wrong?"

"Well …" She pointed to the vending machine and as soon as Nishikata reached it, he found that it had everything in stock, except apple.

"How!?"


	5. Chapter 5

**So I'm posting again today because this is a really short chapter and I wanted to get it out as soon as possible. That, along with a few other reasons. Now for the review.**

**dan: Thank you, this is actually one of the smaller reasons I decided to update today. I mean yes, it was mostly that this chapter was short, but this did contribute a little.**

* * *

Some time had passed and Nishikata was sitting at his desk, finishing off what was left of his homework. "Good things there's not much, I need to try and find a way to win against Hamaguchi and Takao, and that means I have to find a way to hold Takagi's hand for long enough to reach Amakawa. Also I need to somehow ask Takagi out, though we never specified how, so I could probably just ask her if she wants to go to the concert with me." He sighed and rolled his head. "But then there's still holding her hand … why does this have to be such a pain?"

He got out of his chair and threw himself onto his bed. "I managed to hold her hand during the summer festival, why is it still so hard?" He looked at his hand and began imagining Takagi's hand in his. "It's Takagi … we've known each other long enough … I should be fine with this."

Once more, the all too familiar feeling came back, only this time, it was accompanied by a sort of emptiness. "What is this?" He clenched his hand. "And why has it only gotten worse? The last time it was this intense was when Takagi and I went to the water park with Nakai and Mano." Immediately, a terrifying thought occurred to him. "I'm not … in love with her, am I?" He shot up and began to panic. "No, that would definitely not be good, she'd be able to tease me to the point where I would no longer be able to show my face at school!" His panic subsided for a moment. "Unless … she also-" He shook the thought from his head before he could even finish his sentence. "No, that's not possible, she practically told me so herself." He thought about that statement for a moment. "Well, she said that she liked me, then said that liking me was a lie so … yeah."

He lied back down and resumed thinking. "Now, am I in love with Takagi? I mean that would be bad, she'd never stop poking fun at me for it … actually, it kinda feels like she already does." He rolled over and pulled out his phone. "But she also acts nice sometimes … and I do have fun hanging out with her … even if she does tease me." He let out a sigh as he remembered her words from earlier. "She wanted to hang out with me more outside of school … I mean how bad could it be?" He shot back up and shook his head. "No, I have to stay on track, and I can't jump to conclusions like I'm in love with her. All I have to do is stay focused and I should be able to overcome this."

He stood up, and walked into the middle of the room. "Okay, so Takagi teased me thirty five times today, that times three in one hundread and five pushups, now let's do this!"

After some time, he finished roughly half his quota and collapsed as he began gasping for air. "Okay, I need a break."

He pushed his way to his feet and made his way out of his room and down the stairs. '_What was I thinking?' _He thought to himself as he reached the bottom of the stairs. '_I can't be in love with Takagi, no way no how!' _He made his way into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. "What was I even worried about?!"

He began drinking in big gulps, but before long, he stopped and just stared into his cup. '_Who am I kidding? It's a distinct possibility that I'm head over heels for her.' _He began slowly sipping away as his mind continued to wander. '_She is cute, that's something I have to admit. And what would really change if we did end up getting together.' _He froze then shook his head. '_Not that it would happen.' _He emptied his glass and placed it into the sink before walking back upstairs. '_I doubt anything would change, she'd still tease me, I'd try to tease her and … maybe fail. I guess we would probably hang out a lot more though.' _He stopped as his face began to heat up. '_And … probably hold hands more often, and once in a while we might ki-' _His heart rate spiked and he turned around and marched back downstairs "I need more water!"

He walked right back into the kitchen and poured himself another large glass of water which he promptly drank in one go before gasping for air again. "That's better." He looked down into his empty glass and began to think. '_Like I said, I can't jump to conclusions just because I get a little embarrassed around her. I would probably be that embarrassed with any girl … not that I've had experience hanging around with any girls, just Takagi. And this feeling is probably part of that as well, I'm just … nervous around girls is all.' _He placed his glass in the sink once again and punched his fist into his palm. "In any event, I still have more pushups to do!"


	6. Chapter 6

**So today I have a really short chapter, enjoy**

* * *

Wednesday morning had begun much the same as any other, only Nishikata was more nervous about today than usual. "Okay, this is no big deal, it's just Takagi, you've walked to school with her before hundreds of times, this time is no different." He said as he walked down the road.

He continued walking for a time, and then some more, and eventually, he noticed that he had long since passed the point where he would have bumped into Takagi. "Huh … that's strange." He looked around again before continuing on. "I mean it's not like this hasn't happened before, but the one day I need it to not happen." He stopped and carefully looked around again. '_I'd better watch what I say, if she finds out about the competition between me, Takao, and Hamaguchi, I'll lose, and she can be right around the corner for all I know.'_

He continued walking and managed to get to the school with no sign of Takagi. "Well … at least I didn't get teased yet, but still." He took a look around and found Takagi's bike parked by the bike rack. "Well, at least I know she's here."

He continued into the school, changing his shoes, and walked to his class. Sure enough, there she was, sitting at her desk, right next to his. "Morning Takagi." He said as he walked up and took his seat.

"Huh?" She looked up at him a little surprised. "Oh, good morning Nishikata."

"Yeah, um … you got here quick."

"Well yeah, I had day duty today."

"Oh, right." He turned away as the strange feeling came back. '_Damn it, why can't I just be more confident? That would solve all my problems.'_

"Nishikata." She began catching his attention. "Is everything okay? You seemed to be very out of it yesterday."

"Yes, everything's fine." He grunted as he continued to look away from her.

"Well that's good." She looked him up and down as a smile formed on her face. "Say, Nishikata, you're still working out, right?"

"Huh? Yeah." He said as he turned back to face her. "Sometimes it's well over one hundred pushups, sometimes it's more."

"Well it's definitely starting to show." Nishikata's face began to go red as Takagi smiled at him. "It's really becoming apparent that you keep on skipping leg day."

Nishitaka's face went beet red as he was taken aback. "Hey, it doesn't look that bad, does it?"

"You keep this up and you'll like a mass of muscle mounted on two tinny legs." Takagi burst into laughter as Nishikata tried to cover his face in shame.

Elsewhere, Hamaguchi was on his way to class, wondering how to get the upper hand in their competition. "Man, I can't wait till Friday, it'll be so much easier to just ask Houjou out if it sounds last minute … though I guess I kinda have to depend on her not having plans … and Nishikata and Takao failing."

He let out a sigh and continued on his way to class, just as he was about to round the final corner though, he felt a tug on the back of his shirt. "Huh?" He turned around and saw a girl that he recognized from class. "Hey, aren't you-"

"I need a favor." She interrupted. "And please, don't tell anyone."


	7. Chapter 7

**So this was supposed to be out yesterday, but due to time constraints, it wasn't. Now it is, and the next will be out in a few minutes to an hour, thank you for understanding.**

* * *

The day had continued onward for a few periods to the point where P.E. had just ended, and Nisshikata and the others were getting changed into their regular clothes. "Man, why did we have to go outside in this heat?" Nishikata asked as he put him normal shirt on.

"Yeah." Kimura replied, as he desperately tried to breath. "I know how you feel. I'm just glad the lunch is next."

"Seriously Kemura, how can you think about food after working out?" Takao asked.

"Easy, I'm hungry." Both Nishikata and Takao looked at him slightly uneasy, as he finished changing and walked out of the changing room.

"Well, can't argue with that logic." Takao said as he also finished getting changed.

"You guys almost done?" Asked Hamaguchi as he rounded a corner.

"I think we're finished." Nishikata replied as he grabbed his bag.

The three of them set off to the school yard, and though none of them would admit it, there was a tension in the air. Eventually, the three of them caught up with Kimura and found a place where they could sit.

"Man, am I glad it's finally lunchtime." Kimura said as he pulled out a lunch box.

"Yeah so am I." Nishikata added as he opened his bag. As he reached to pull out his lunch box, he felt something in his bag that was out of place. As he looked inside, what he saw made his heart skip a beat; it was a pink letter, sealed with a heart sticker and with his name written on the side. '_This can't be … can it?' _He slowly closed his bag and stood up. "I actually need to use the bathroom first."

"Why didn't you just use it while we were the locker room?" Takao asked.

"No reason." He walked away from without so much as another word, and began making his way to the bathroom. '_Could this be a love letter?' _He thought to himself. '_It is pink … and has a heart on it. Though it could probably just be Takagi trying to tease me again.' _He continued into the bathroom and took a quick look around to make sure no one was there.

"Looks like the coast is clear." He said as he placed his bag onto the counter and opened it. He pulled the letter out again and gave it another once over; it was bright pink with his name on it, only there were hearts in place of the dots in the I's. "This is definitely a prank, most likely from Taka- no" He began to think to himself, going over the day once more. "This doesn't sound like her. She wouldn't make something that's a lie, though I guess I have to actually read it to see if it could be a lie."

He peeled off the sticker and took out the letter itself; it was white, unlike the envelope, and was on a folded piece of line paper. "Not very appealing for a love letter." He unfolded it and began to read.

_Nishikata_

_I would like it if I could talk to you about something later today in some place private. Could you meet me after school on the roof? Also, please don't show this letter to anyone, I swear it's not what you think, I just want to talk._

_A friend_

Nishikata had to read over the letter a second time as he had a hard time believing what he was looking at. "So … what is this?" He shoved the letter back into his bag and walked out of the bathroom. '_Now that I think about it, it couldn't have been from Takagi. Only time my bag was unattended between now and the last time I checked it was when it was in the locker room, and girls can't go in there, at least, they're not allowed to. It's most likely some guy trying to play a trick on me.' _He stopped walking as a thought occurred to him. '_Then again, Takagi could have somehow slipped it in without me noticing … it is Takagi after all.' _He shook his head. '_No, I can't get ahead of myself, I'll have to see what she does next time I see her.' _

It didn't take him long to return to the school yard and his friends who watched him as he sat back down. "Everything alright?" Kimura asked.

"Yeah, I just ... had to use the bathroom is all." He said nervously. "Anyway, let's eat lunch."

They all shrugged it off and began to eat, though all the while, Nishikata couldn't get that letter out of his head. '_It said it's not what I think, and it looked like an obvious love letter, so it can't be that. Thought what could whoever wrote this want? And why not just ask me face to face?'_

"Hey, Nishikata!" Kimura shouted interrupting his thought process. "You paying attention?"

"Uh, sorry, I spaced out there for a moment."

"I asked if you managed to get those tickets yesterday."

Nishikata paused as he glanced to Takao and Hamaguchi who also looked at him with a knowing look. "No, they sold out too quickly."

"Well that's too bad." Kimura said before taking another bite of his sandwich. "Maybe next time."

Nishikata shrugged with a smile. "Well I'm just going to have to find another way to get back at her."

"Yeah, I don't think that's happening."


	8. Chapter 8

**This is chapter 8, chapter 7 was posted roughly a few minutes ago so if you just got the notification and ran to the chapter at the end, go back a chapter and read that first. Thank you again.**

* * *

The school day had just ended and Nishikata was gathering his things together while thinking about the mysterious letter he received. '_Takagi didn't hint at the letter at all today, could just mean she wants it to be a surprise … but still.'_

"Hey Nishikata." Takagi began, catching his attention. "You wanna walk home together today? I mean we weren't able to walk to school this morning, so I was thinking we make up for lost time."

"Can't." He said as he put his last textbook into his bag. "I … have something else that needs to be taken care of."

"You going to try and get tickets again?" She asked jokingly.

Nishikata groaned slightly as he looked at her, only to notice that her expression went from playful to curious. It only took him a second to realize that her attention was fixed not on him, but on his bag, or more importantly, the letter that he kept in it which was now very visible. "It's nothing." He said as he slammed his bag shut.

"Huh?" She straightened her posture and looked at Nishikata. "Well … can I come with you?"

"No." He said as he threw his bag over his shoulder. "Sorry, it's just … something I need to take care of myself."

"But you said we could walk home together today."

"Huh?" He tried thinking back until he remembered what he had said just before running out the day before. "Oh yeah, well … this kinda came up last minute so … I'm sorry."

"It's … okay." She glanced at his bag then turned around. "So … how about tomorrow?"

"Yeah." With that, he walked out of the classroom leaving Takagi behind and a heavy feeling in his heart. '_Damn, this again.' _He grabbed his chest as he walked until the feeling subsided and he drew closer to the top floor. '_Well based on Takagi's reaction, it's safe to assume that she didn't write it.' _He thought. '_But who could it be? And why?' _He stopped momentarily as he felt something strange, almost like he was being watched by someone. Normally that would be expected at the school, with all the people there, but it felt like someone was watching him specifically. "Maybe it's just my imagination." He continued on his way to the roof, stopping just before the top stairwell to pull out the envelope and look at it. "They used hearts instead of dots for the I's, and this isn't supposed to be a love letter?"

He shoved the letter back into his pocket and walked up to the door that lead to the roof and pushed it open, revealing an empty roof with no one in sight. "HEY! IS ANYONE UP HERE!"

"Are you alone?" Came a voice from behind him that caused him to jump.

Nishikata turned to see the door to the roof close by someone wearing a pink hoodie that obscured their face, but was probably a girl judging by the fact that she was wearing a skirt. "Are you alone?" She asked again.

"Uh … yeah … what did you want?"

She pulled her hood back revealing a brown ponytail and a somewhat familiar face. "I need … advice."

"Wait." Nishikata began as he scratched his chin. "I know you, you're one of Takagi's friends … uh …I don't think I ever actually learned your name."

"Takagawa." She replied.

"Okay, it's nice to finally know your name, so why did you give me a 'not a love letter'?"

"Because I … wanted to ask you for some advice."

"You mentioned that, what did you want to ask me?"

She blushed and looked off to the side as she began playing with the sleeves of her hoodie. "Well … there's … a guy in the school who I wanted to get closer to." Nishikata began to blush a little before she quickly continued. "It's not you! It's definitely not you!"

"Definitely not me, huh?" He asked feeling a little offended.

"I didn't mean it like that, it's just … well … I wouldn't be asking you if it was you."

"Okay … but … why me?"

"Because I'm envious of your relationship with Takagi." Nishikata was about to open his mouth but Takagawa was quick to interrupt him. "I know, I know, you and Takagi aren't dating, but that's not what I was referring to." She took a deep breath. "You and Takagi are close, and I want something like that with this boy. I want to get closer to him and get to know him better before thinking about asking him out."

"Okay … couldn't you have asked Takagi for that same thing?"

She threw up her hood and walked over to the fence surrounding the roof and leaned against it. "I tried, but she gave me advice that … kinda went along the lines of 'taking control of the situation to think it was his idea' and other things like that." She looked off to the side and began nodding.

"Yeah." Nishikata said feeling defeated. "That sounds like her." He walked over and leaned against the fence next to her.

"And I'm … not as clever, confident, or as smart as Takagi."

"And you want to ask me because I'm not as clever, confident, or smart?"

"Yes." She said deadpan as she looked right into his eyes.

Nishikata sighed. "Well, Takagi and I … I'm not sure what you mean by 'what we have' because that's … well, not really … well you see, the thing is …"

"Then whatever the 'thing' is, how exactly did you two … get … it."

Nishikata thought back to the first time he and Takagi met. "That's … wait, you were sitting right in front of her, right?"

"I wasn't paying attention at the time."

"Well okay." He thought back to the situation again and ran it through his head. "Well, it was chance for the most part; we happen to sit next to each other, I found her handkerchief and returned it to the lost and found, which got me late. I, not knowing her name at the time, blamed Takagi while she was sitting right next to me, and when I found out, I was super embarrassed, and she laughed at my reaction." He hung his head in despair. "And ever since she's teased me and I have tried and failed to get back at her."

"Well there aren't that many … boys and girls that are as close as you and Takagi at this school."

"You mean there aren't many who aren't already dating?"

"Oh, you guys are closer than some couples in this school." She said as she looked off and to the side. "One comes to mind but that's not important." She turned back to Nishikata. "So, can you help?"

He began thinking for a moment before giving her a response. "Well, I'll be frank, I don't know much about you, and I don't even know the guy you have a crush on … but if all you want from me is how to become friends, then I suggest finding an excuse to talk to him."

"Could … you be a little more specific?"

"Well … are you two in the same class?"

"Yeah."

"Well … you could try coming early a day he has to come in for day duty and just say hi, ask questions about school, like homework or an upcoming test. Maybe try to lead into asking him about his hobbies … but that would depend on how the conversation goes. You could also try 'randomly' bumping into them and trying to start up a small conversation, like asking them how they've been, but that would only work if you two know each other to a small extent."

"You think that will work?"

Nishikata shrugged. "I have no idea, but that's the best I can think of seeing as … I don't know the people involved."

"Guess you have a point there." She pushed herself off the fence. "But it sounds like good advice so …" She turned around and faced him. "Thanks."

"No problem." He said as he also pushed off the fence.

"And please … don't tell anyone about this, not even Takagi."

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Thanks."

Takagawa took her leave, leaving Nishikata alone with his thoughts. "Well that wasn't exactly what I expected, but it wasn't so bad." He began walking down the stairs, but once again, he had the feeling that he was being watched.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi, I'm upset, that will pass though so here's another chapter.**

**Loo: Thanks, it always warms my heart to see another person enjoying my stories.  
**

* * *

Takagi was riding her bike home with more than a few things on her mind. "What was with that pink letter?" She asked herself. "Could he have a secret admirer?" She shook her head. "No, I would have heard about that … wouldn't I? I'll have to ask around later."

She reached her house and put her bike away before walking inside. "I should get started on my homework, but first." She pulled out her phone to try and message a friend, but the first thing she saw was a message from Mano. "Huh?" She unlocked the phone and looked at what was written.

**Mano: **Hey, I think I have something you might want to see.

She looked at her phone and began typing.

**Takagi: **What is it?

She waited a short time for a response, which was in the form of a picture that made her heart sink. The angle was from the ground but it looked like Nishikata on the roof leaning against the fence next to a girl in a pink hoodie.

**Takagi: **Who is that next to him?

**Mano: **No idea, I wouldn't have even seen this if it weren't for Nakai, and some others who also took a picture.

She took a closer look at the picture, sure, it looked like Nishikata, but from that distance, it could be someone else.

**Takagi: **You sure it's Nishikata?

**Mano: **The picture doesn't show it, but he turned his head shortly after I took it and it looked like him.

Takagi felt a twinge in her chest as she began to go over the information she had. "There's the letter, and now this." She began to suspect the worst but something told her to remain optimistic.

**Takagi: **There's always the chance that there's more to this than what's apparent, but thank you for sharing.

**Mano: **No problem, I hope you're right.

Takagi put her phone away as she began running over the information she had. "It's most likely Nishikata, and no one would normally be wearing a hoodie in this heat so they are deliberately trying to hide who they are." She entered her room and sat at her desk. "So it's likely someone who knows I like him, and doesn't want me to know it's them."

She put her bag on her desk and stared into space. "Should I ask him? I could probably get the truth somehow." She stopped and sighed. "Is it any of my business? I mean … it's not like he's my boyfriend yet … he doesn't even realize his own feelings so, whoever this is, the same goes for her." She gave a sad smile as the twinge in her chest became worse. "Guess I'm still jealous though."

Meanwhile, back at the school, Nishikata was only just leaving after his talk with Takagawa. "Man, I'm glad that wasn't what I thought it was." He said with relief. "Wait … I forgot to ask her how she got that letter into my bag, didn't I?" He shrugged and continued walking. "Well I guess it doesn't really matter at this point."

"Hey! Nishikata!" He heard his friend Nakai call out.

He looked around until he found Nakai walking over to him along with Mano. "Hey guys." He greeted. "You two here to work on homework together?"

"Well, we were actually on our way home, but … well …"

"We wanted to ask you something really quick." Mano finished.

"Okay, but how did you know I was still here?"

Mano pulled out her phone and pulled up a picture that made Nishikata's panic; somehow, she had taken a picture of him and Takagawa leaning against the roof fence from the ground floor. "Wha-what am I looking at?"

"That's you in the picture, right?" Mano asked.

Nishikata looked at it again, it was pretty obvious it was him so lying wasn't going to do him much good. "So what if it is?"

"I didn't know you hung out with any girls other than Takagi." Nakai stated.

"And it's not Takagi cause she just messaged me that she was at home." Mano added.

Nishikata felt his insides begin to twist. '_Damn, if Takagi found out about this, she'll think I'm dating someone and tease me about it for sure.' _"She's no one." Nishikata turned away as he began to feel a sense of dread. "And why is this important?"

"Well I just thought I'd give you a heads up." Nakai began. "I wouldn't have even seen this if I didn't notice like three others taking pictures."

'_Why is this conversation getting worse with every sentence?! Forget Takagi, everyone in the school is going to tease me about having a girlfriend, or cheating on Takagi.' _He froze as he went over those words again. '_Wait, I'm not even dating Takagi, why would that matter?'_

"Nishikata?" Nakai said catching his attention. "You okay? You're spacing out."

"I'm fine." Nishikata began. "It's just … not something I can really talk about."

Nakai shrugged. "Well okay then, nice seeing you."

They began to walk away until Mano looked back to Nishikata to shoot him a glare, then proceed to follow Nakai.

Once they were far enough away, Nishikata sighed and began to make his own way home. '_Damn, this whole contest just went from bad to worse, now everyone's going to think I'm dating Takagawa.' _He paused as he went over their interaction in his head. '_No, she never turned her head, they won't know it's her, but people will still think I'm dating someone. That means if I do ask Takagi to the concert then it's going to look that much more like a romantic gesture.' _He began frantically scratching his head trying to think of a solution. '_And I still can't figure out what this damn feeling means!'_


	10. Chapter 10

**So today we have a short chapter, hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Nishikata had managed to get home and had been collapsed on his bed for a good hour. "Why is this all so complicated?" He pulled a pillow into his face and moaned. "All of this … just for a chance to get back at Takagi, and I still need to think of a way to make her embarrassed at the concert." He threw his pillow to the side and looked at the ceiling. "And now people will think I'm dating someone else, this isn't going to make things easier."

He rolled to his side and began thinking. "Takagi probably knows the truth … though Takagawa said not to tell her. Maybe they have the same crush." He shot up as an idea popped into his head. "Maybe her crush is going to the concert, if that's the case, all I have to do is pretend like we're actually on a date and if he sees us, then Takagi will be so embarrassed." He stopped for a minute before slapping himself across the face. "Not only am I unable to do that, but I could never do something like that to Takagi." He paused as another idea popped into his head. 'What if … I approach this from another angle. If Takagi gets together with her crush, then she might stop teasing me." A cold sensation began to form within him. "I could win those tickets and … give them to Takagi so she can … go with the boy she likes." There was a squeeze inside his chest as the cold sensation grew. "I wouldn't even need to find out who her crush is, it … could work."

He pulled out his phone and began flipping through the pictures until he got to the only one he had of Takagi. "But … I don't want to … why don't I want to?" As he stared at the picture, his phone began to ring causing him to almost drop it and fall on his face. "OW!" He said as he picked it up. "Whos-" He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Takagi.

"Huh? What does she want?" He answered it and put the phone to his ear. "Takagi?"

"Hey Nishikata." She replied. "Working on homework?"

"No, not at the moment." He said as he lay back down on his bed.

"So then are you free to talk?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

She was silent for a moment before finally speaking. "So, Mano showed me a picture earlier, of you and some other girl."

'_Of course.' _Nishikata thought to himself. "Yeah, I heard a lot of people saw that."

"Yeah, well … who is she?"

Nishikata felt his heart stop. "She's … she's no one important."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a bit until Takagi spoke again. "You're lying."

"I'm … not lying."

"Is she your new girlfriend?" Takagi asked playfully.

"Definitely not!"

"You're right, you're too embarrassed around girls for something like that."

"That only happens when you tease me!" Nishikata froze as a realization hit him. '_That's right, I wasn't at all nervous when talking with Takagawa about her crush. Come to think of it, I wasn't nervous when talking Yukari either … so it's only Takagi … not … just any girl like I thought.'_

"Nishikata?" Takagi said, interrupting his thought process. "Be honest, you would tell me if you got a girlfriend, right?"

Nishikata scoffed. "Yeah right, so you could tease me more?"

"... You really think I would do something like that?"

Nishikata rolled his eyes. "Of course, you always tease me about everything, especially when the subject of romance comes up. Not to mention I would have no reason to tell you anyway."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line that made Nishikata think that they may have accidentally gotten disconnected. "Uh, Takagi?"

"You're right, sorry for butting in."

"It's fine."

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." With that farwell, Nishikata hung up the phone and placed it down next to him, all while he began to feel a pit form in his stomach. "Why … do I feel bad?"

Meanwhile, Takagi was staring at her phone while biting her lower lip. "I knew I shouldn't have called." She said softly. "It kinda feels like I'm the one you think is unimportant."


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi there, so I've changed the name of the story for reasons I've already mentioned over on tumbler. In any event, I hope you enjoy my story even more with it's new name (Disclaimer: I know that the name may not have an effect on readers continuing to read the story, I just hope you like it)**

* * *

It was Wednesday morning and once again, and Nishikata was nervously making his way to school. '_Okay, so I know this feeling only happens when I'm near Takagi, am I annoyed that I constantly lose? Do I have some form of inferiority complex? Damn, I wish this was easier!' _He shook his head and continued onwards to where he and Takagi usually met up. When he got there though, she was, once again, nowhere to be found. "Well that's strange." He said as he looked around. "I thought she would have wanted to walk to school."

He quickly remembered the conversation that he had with her last night, which gave him an uncomfortable feeling. "Then again, I may have upset her." He begrudgingly continued onwards as he continued thinking. "Wait a second, why do I care if I upset her? … no, no, I do care, I'm not heartless … but should it really feel _this _bad?"

Elsewhere, Yukari. Mina, and Sanae were also on their way to school while Yukari had a number of things on her mind. '_I would have thought that someone would have won the contest by now, I mean how hard is it to ask out a girl that you're close to?' _She looked over at Sanae. '_Well I shouldn't expect Takao to win, even if he does work up the courage to ask Sanae out, she'll probably say no. But why hasn't Nishikata won yet?'_

"Yukari!" Mina exclaimed. "You're spacing out."

"Huh? Oh, sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was asking if you wanted to stop by the candy shop before school."

"It's not even open yet."

"Oh, right."

"You seem more distracted than usual." Sanae began. "Knowing you, you're probably thinking of some drama you heard about."

"Drama?" Mina asked. "You mean like Nishikata's new girlfriend drama? I've heard a few people talking about it yesterday."

"What are you talking about Mina?" Yukari asked. "Nishikata doesn't have a new girlfriend."

Mina pulled out her phone and pulled up a picture of Nishikata leaning next to the roof fence, along with a girl in a pink hoodie. "See? He's in a romantic spot with a girl."

Yukari took a close look at the photo and shook her head. "No, that doesn't prove anything."

"How about ..." She looked at her phone then pulled up another picture. "This?"

Yukari took a look at the new photo and her eyes went wide. "What the f-"

Meanwhile, Nishikata had just arrived to school and was making his way to class. '_Her bike is here again, but I don't think she had day duty today'_

As he walked through the halls of the school, he was greeted by a guy who suddenly slapped him on the back. "Hey! Nishikata, nice going man." He said before continuing on.

"Uh … thanks?"

As he stared in confusion, another boy came up and slapped his shoulder. "Man, aren't you lucky."

"I am?" The second boy continued walking as well, leaving Nishikata more confused than before.

He continued walking again, keeping an eye out for more people slapping him on the back. Before he knew it, he was pulled into a side hallway where he found himself face to face with Takagawa. "You said you weren't followed." She hissed as she glared at him.

"What are you talking about?"

She pulled out her phone and pulled up a picture. "How did this get out?"

Nishikata took a look at the picture for a moment, but wasn't sure what he was seeing; it wasn't the same one he found out about yesterday, but from a little earlier, just before he walked upstairs. "I don't-" it was at that moment that he saw it, somehow, the picture managed to capture him holding the envelope from yesterday with the text very visible, right down to the little hearts above the I's.

"Seriously, now everyone will think that I'm your girlfriend or something."

"Well pulling me into a dark corner isn't going to help with that rumor, now will it?"

"Well it's the only way I could talk to you!" She exclaimed. "And we need to talk."

"Well how about we exchange emails, that way we can talk about this when there aren't too many people around."

She begrudgingly pulled out her phone and the two of them exchanged contact info. "Good, now we need to get to class before anyone sees … us."

"You go on ahead, I'll catch up later."

"Okay." Nishikata was about to leave the side hall when he suddenly remembered something. "Wait, how did get that letter into my bag? The only opportunity was when it was in the guys locker room and you can't go in there."

"I asked one of your friends to deliver it."

The world seemed to stop as suspicions began to flood his mind. "It wouldn't have by chance been Hamaguchi or Takao, would it?"

"Uh … the one that's trying to date Houjou."

Nishikata's head sank as he reluctantly nodded. "That would be Hamaguchi, of course." He let out a sigh. "When you get a chance, send me that picture, I'm going to need it."

"Okay but … what's going on exactly?"

"Nothing I can really talk about." He said before waving her farewell and walking out of the side hall.

'_I should have known.' _Nishikata thought to himself as he walked down the hall. '_Hamaguchi is trying to sabotage my chances with Takagi.' _His mind froze for a moment. '_Wait, that sounds like I'm trying to date her … that doesn't matter. Cause of these pictures and me not being able to talk about any of the situations I'm in, it could cause Takagi to distance herself from me, which is very not good if I want to get back at her.' _He let out a sigh as he approached the classroom. '_That's probably why she didn't want to walk to school with me today. I'm going to need to confront Hamaguchi later and somehow make up with Takagi.'_

As he rounded the corner into the classroom, he became paralized, almost instantly. Appearance wise, nothing was different, but as soon as he laid eyes on Takagi, Nishikata felt like he was being flooded with a vast array of different emotions. '_Takagi … why do I feel guilty? I mean I didn't do anything wrong exactly … right?' _He did his best to push the feelings aside and walk into class to take his seat. '_What … what do I want to do?'_

After taking his seat, he placed his bag next to him and turned to Takagi. "Hey … morning Takagi."

"Good morning." She replied while facing away from him.

"Hey so … you weren't at the place we usually meet up at."

She turned to him a little surprised. "I …" She turned back to face the front. "I forgot, sorry."

"You …oh." Nishikata turned away as well and ran his fingers through his hair. '_Damn it, what do I say? What is even wrong?' _He sighed and dropped his head. '_I don't even know where to start.'_


	12. Chapter 12

**New chapter, not much else. Enjoy.**

* * *

Class had went on and ended quite uneventfully and everyone was on their way to their next class, save for Nishikata who was making a b-line straight for his friend Hamaguchi. '_He thinks he can win by shoving a wedge between Takagi and I? Well I'll show him!' _His expression softened up as he realized what just went through his mind. '_Wait, but Takagi and I … I don't know.' _He shook the thought from his head and continued looking for Hamaguchi.

It didn't take long, he managed to find him sitting with Takao and Kimura, sitting at a bench in front of a window. "Hey." He said trying to sound friendly. "How have you guys been?"

Hamaguchi and Takao tried to avoid eye contact, while Kimura turned to him and smiled. "Hey Nishikata, wanna sit?"

"Actually, I kinda need to talk with Hamaguchi and Takao alone." Kimura looked at him curiously, then at the others and noticed that they were trying to avoid eye contact with just about everything.

"You guys mind telling me what's going on?" There was no response and Kimura just sighed. "Okay then, I hope you all get it sorted out." He stood up and left them alone.

When Kimura was finally out of earshot, Nishikata turned back to his two friends, specifically Hamaguchi, and glared at him. "You think playing dirty is going to help you win?" He asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Hamaguchi replied.

"Don't play dumb, she told me who she got to deliver the letter for her." Hamaguchi didn't look like he was about to spill, so Nishikata decided to push a little harder. "I could ask Houjou about it, seems like it's a little childish so I'm not entirely sure if you would have told her-"

"Okay! Be quiet! There are still people who can hear us." Hamaguchi snapped.

"I want the truth."

Hamaguchi sighed and looked off to the side. "Early yesterday, someone came up to me, and asked me to sneak a letter into your bag. I didn't know what it was-"

"Bull shit." Nishikata interrupted.

"Fine, it was obviously a love letter, but she wanted it delivered, and I did just that. You're making it sound like I did something wrong."

"You were trying to use it to put distance between Takagi and I. Don't pretend that your actions are justified by being friendly."

Hamaguchi and Nishikata stared each other down for a bit before Hamaguchi eventually folded. "Okay, yes, I tried to take advantage of it by leaving your bag open so more people in the locker room would see it, and pointing it out so people would see you two standing together. But I didn't think you two were close enough for any distance to be put between you guys."

"I-" He froze. "Wait, that doesn't make sense; my bag was closed when I got back into the locker room, and how could you have taken the second picture if you were already on the ground?"

"Huh?" Hamaguchi shook his head. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't be like that, who else would be motivated to do something like-" At that precise moment, he noticed Takao was trying desperately to avoid looking at him and sweating profusely. "Takao … didn't you have to go to the restroom during gym yesterday?"

Takao glanced back at him before looking away again. "You can't prove anything."

"Can't prove anything?" He hissed. "If Hamaguchi is right, and he left my bag open, and you were the only one who went into the locker room between then and all of us returning, then I think that gives me plausible cause."

"So you're saying that I'm a bad person for closing your bag so that no one can see inside?"

"No." Nishikata said as he shook his head. "But who else would know to follow me to get that second picture?"

"It could have been anyone."

"So then you wouldn't mind if I saw your phones picture library then?"

Takao began to sweat. "Uh … well … the thing is …"

"DAMN IT!" He exclaimed. "You guys know that this is probably going to have some lasting negative consequences for me?"

"Look." Takao began. "I'm sorry if I messed things up between you and the girl you like but-"

"I DO NOT LIKE HER!"

There was a coldness that permeated the air around them, and Nishikata couldn't help but feel like someone had crossed a line.

"Okay." Hamaguchi said as he stood up. "What's done is done, I can't really ask Houjou out till Friday anyway, Is there anything else you wanted to talk with me about?" Nishikata sighed and shook his head. "Then I'm going to class."

He walked away, leaving Nishikata and Takao alone. The second Nishikata looked at Takao, he jumped to his feet and took off, as if running for his life. "I'll have to deal with him later." He crossed his arms and began thinking to himself. '_Right now I need to find a way to fix things with Takagi.' _He turned around but froze when he noticed that there were a few students staring at him. '_Well this probably isn't' good.' _He ignored them and continued onwards.

As he made his way to his next class, his phone sounded, signaling that he got a message from someone. "Huh?" He pulled out his phone and saw that it was from Takagwa.

**Takagawa: **So what happened?

Nishikata began typing his response.

**Nishikata: **So apparently, one of my 'friends' found out about the letter and tried to take advantage of it.

**Takagawa: **To what end?

**Nishikata: **Not something I can really talk about.

He thought to himself for a moment before typing in another message.

**Nishikata: **But so long as you don't tell anyone, I can say that it was essentially to make some distance between Takagi and I.

**Takagawa: **Was it Hamaguchi?

**Nishikata: **No, he may have had ulterior motives, but he didn't do much, other than deliver the letter and point us out on the roof. But please, again, don't tell anyone I told you any of this.

**Takagawa: **Why?

Nishikata sighed before typing in another response.

**Nishikata: **Because I might be able to turn this around still.

There was a long pause before Takagawa sent him another message.

**Takagawa: **Hey, could I ask you something?

**Nishikata: **Sure, what is it?

**Takagawa: **Do you have a crush on Takagi?

Nishikata felt his heart jump into his throat, not only was this a difficult question for him to address, but he was talking to Takagi's best friend, which made it all the harder. Before he could give her a flat-out 'no' though, she followed up with another message.

**Takagawa: **I promise I won't tell, you're keeping your promise of not telling anyone about what happened on the roof, even though it would help you. I do appreciate that more than you can imagine.

Nishikata sighed and slowly began typing.

**Nishikata: **Honestly, I don't know anymore. I mean we're close and all, I kinda respect that she's always somehow one step ahead of me, she always pushes me to train hard, she's nice, I like spending time with her, I like challenging her even more, her laugh is adorable, even if it's aimed at me, and I always feel this … I don't know, feeling while I'm around her, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

There was another long pause as Nishikata began to contemplate if it was a good idea to actually send that.

**Takagawa: **Nishikata?

**Nishikata: **Yes?

**Takagawa: **I'm fairly sure that's called being in love.

Nishikata blushes before typing rapidly.

**Nishikata: **That remains to be seen. Anyway, you can't tell any of this to Takagi, she'd tease me in all new ways if she thought I was in love with her.

**Takagawa: **Well you're not wrong.

**Nishikata: **Yeah, so, don't tell her.

**Takagawa: **Okay, I promise. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get to class.

Nishikata let out a sigh of relief and continue making his way to his next class. '_Now how am I supposed to fix things with Takagi?'_


	13. Chapter 13

**Good news everyone, I've finished making the final chapter ... which is chapter 28. It's not posted because I have a schedule which I will stick to, and there is also the editing. Though I do need to start thinking about my next story, I have a few ideas but I need to pick on out. Now for the reviews**

**Guest: Thank you, this review made my day **

* * *

The school day had continued onwards to the point where it was now time for lunch, but Nishikata was in more than a small rut. '_I'm at a complete loss.' _He thought to himself. '_I don't know how to make things better between me and Takagi, I don't know how to overcome this feeling, I don't know how I'm going to ask her to the concert, and I don't know what I'm going to do when we get there.' _He sighed and looked up. '_Maybe it's best if I lose, the tickets would go to waste if I get then.' _Nishikata shook his head as he continued walking. '_NO! I can't let Hamaguchi or Takao win after what happened! If only to spite them for what they did!' _He nodded as he reached the schoolyard, feeling more motivated. '_Now, how am I going to do that?'_

He made his way to where he and his friends usually sit, but as soon as he saw Hamaguchi and Takao, he froze. There was an awkward glaring contest between them that lasted a few seconds before Nishikata continued on his way. "Not going to be sitting there today."

He continued walking and looking around for a place to sit, yet had little luck. He did manage to spot a few places with other people he occasionally hung out with, but it didn't look like there was a spot open at any of their tables. "Guess I'm sitting alone today." Nishikata said reluctantly.

He began making his way to a free spot where no one else was sitting, but as he moved to sit, he noticed someone else doing the same. "Oh, sorry about that-" He looked up and saw a familiar face also trying to sit there. "Amakawa?"

"Hey Nishikata." She greeted. "You mind if I sit here or-"

"No no, it's fine." He said as he moved to the side and sat down. "So where are the others?"

"Oh, well Sanae is doing something that involves one of her clubs, and Mina is in the nurses for …" She sighed as she sat down. "Over exerting herself in gym."

"I didn't know you guys were doing something so exhausting."

"We weren't." She pulled out her lunch and set it on the table. "So what about you? Is there a-" She paused and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Thing … involving the contest that means you three can't eat lunch together?"

"Kinda." Nishikata said as he took out his lunch. "Hamaguchi and Takao crossed some lines, now I'm upset with them."

"Oh." She looked down at her lunch but didn't touch it. "Does it have something to do with those pictures that have been going around?"

"Everything." Nishikata replied as his head dropped. "Why does everyone even care so much? I mean you would think that they have better things to do in their lives than obsess over my relationship with Takagi."

"Well, I think it has more to do with Takagi."

Nishikata looked at her confused. "Huh?"

"Well, from what I've heard, she is very popular with a lot of the boys around school."

"Yeah, so is Houjou, but what does any of this have to do with me?"

Amakawa stared at him surprised. "You … aren't you and Takagi-"

"How many times am I going to have to say that Takagi and I aren't a thing?"

"Really?" She asked looking unconvinced. "Then explain why you two walk home together almost every day."

Nishikata began to blush and turned away. "We live near each other and it gives me a chance to try and tease her back."

"Then how about the summer festival?"

"I … she hinted that she wanted to go, but didn't have anyone to go with … so I asked her. It doesn't mean anything else."

"The water park last year?"

"Huh?!" He turned back to her, blushing even harder than before. "I … Nakai and Mano invited us." He said trying to be confident. "And even so, Takagi and I barely spent any time alone together that day. The only time we were alone together was when we gave Mano and Nakai some alone time, that's it." '_And then there was the bus ride home, I really hope no one saw that.'_

Amakawa looked at him suspiciously for a moment before speaking again. "Camp?"

His face went completely pale as his throat began to swell. "THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT, I SWEAR! I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW SHE WAS GOING TO BE THERE! I JUST-" He stopped himself as he realized something. "Wait, how did you know about that?"

"Know about what?" She asked before she began eating her lunch. "I just picked an event out at random, turns out, it proves my point." Nishikata felt exposed, so much that he wanted to run and hide, but just stayed and stared at his lunch. "By the way, what did happen at camp?"

"Camp?" Nishikata thought back to that day and remembered the time he spent with Takagi. "NOTHING!" He quickly began scarfing down his lunch at such a speed that he almost choked.

"Easy there, I was just curious. If you don't want to share, then that's fine. I was just trying to prove a point."

"Which is?" Nishikata asked as soon as he managed to get his throat clear.

"That you and Takagi do spend a lot of time together, and people think that you're really close. Also-" She stopped dead in her tracks for a moment before continuing. "I mean … do you ever think … that … she might … like you?"

Nishikata turned away and growled. "She sometimes pretends to like me to tease me, but that's it."

"I highly doubt that." She said before taking another bite of her lunch. "But here's another question, do you want her to?"

Nishikata looked down off into the distance as his mind began to wonder. '_Do I want her to like me? I guess that relies on if I like her, which … I'm no longer sure about.' _"I don't know."

"Well it's something to think about then. In any event, I'm supposed to be an impartial judge, so that's enough about your obvious crush."

"Gee, thanks."

Elsewhere in the schoolyard, Takagi and Takagawa were also eating lunch together; though Takagi seemed a bit distracted. "Takagi?" Takagawa asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just … thinking."

"About Nishikata?"

"A little." She replied. "He seems like he's being more distant than usual lately."

"Maybe it has something to do with that girl he was hanging out with the other day?" Takagawa said trying not to look guilty.

"Not entirely, he was acting like that since the day before. There's also something else going on that he won't tell me."

"Oh, well that's new."

"Yeah, well, the whole girl with a crush on him isn't making things better, I feel bad for him."

"You seem more worried about him than yourself; I mean don't get me wrong, I'm sure whatever happened on the roof isn't what everyone thinks, but I would assume that you would be at least a little concerned."

"Oh, I am." Takagi replied sounding calmer that she let on.

"How so?"

"Well, he's still easy to read … but it's kinda getting harder, and I'm worried that it's because we're not getting closer. Then again, it could just be because he's talking to me less and less but that's going to have the same outcome." She looked down and bit her lower lip. "Part of me worries that I may actually be pushing him away."

"Did you try just talking to him?"

"Yeah, he shut me out." Takagi said as her sorrow became more apparent.

'_Should I just tell her the truth?' _Takagawa thought to herself. '_I mean she is my friend, she wouldn't be upset and it's not like I like Nishikata. Then again, she did say there's more going on and it's not like telling her would help the situation at all. Maybe I should just message Nishikata later and give him some advice.' _She sighed and went back to her lunch. "That doesn't sound good, but maybe you just have to wait and this will all resolve itself."

"Maybe." Takagi straightened out her posture and took a deep breath. "But let's talk about something else." She smiled and closed her eyes. "Talking about my troubles is only going to ruin both our days."


	14. Chapter 14

**And now it's time for a new chapter that I hope everyone likes. But first, the reviews.**

**andreasgl713: Thank you, I can't begin to tell you how much reviews like this mean to me, I just hope that you don't get upset about this chapter.**

* * *

The school day was coming to a close and everyone was eagerly waiting to go home, save for Hamaguchi, who was thinking up a strategy for getting a one up on his competition. "Okay, so thanks to Takao, I should have plenty of time to ask Houjou out. I should make the most of it though, if I do anything else, Nishikata's going to hate my guts till the end of time." He threw his bag over his shoulder and began making his way to where he usually saw Houjou.

"I'm going to need to work up some courage, I know it wasn't part of my original idea, but maybe I can find a chance to ask her out today!"

He soon found her leaning against the outside wall of her classroom deep in thought. '_Here's my chance!'_ He took a deep breath before approaching. "Good evening Houjou." He greeted.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Oh, hey Hamaguchi." She greeted back. "I was waiting for you."

Hamaguchi felt his face begin to redden but did his best to keep his composure. '_She was waiting? For me?'_

"Let's walk, there's something I wanted to talk with you about."

He eagerly followed her as the two of them made their way down to their lockers and out of the school; it wasn't until they were a few blocks away that she finally began to talk again. "So, I heard that there's some rumor going around about someone in your class, I actually heard that it involved a friend of yours."

"Huh? Oh, are you talking about the stuff Nishikata's going through? Yeah, I've heard and … well, what did you hear exactly?"

"That he's involved in a love triangle." She let out a sigh. "Honestly, things like that can be so … aggravating for someone."

Hamaguchi began to sweat. '_I can't let her know I was involved, she'll think I'm a total child!' _"Well I don't have all the details, but apparently Nishikata got a love letter from someone and they were seen on the roof together."

"I thought he was going out with Takagi."

"He's adamant about disproving that. Doesn't really matter though, from what I've heard, he doesn't like the girl he met on the roof anyway."

"Well I figured that much. He can be so childish sometimes."

"Yeah, I know, he's always talking about 'getting back at Takagi for all those times she's teased him' or something like that."

Houjou let out a barely noticeable laugh which made Hamaguchi feel triumphant. '_Yes, I made her laugh, always a good sign.'_

"Can you imagine having a relationship like that? Where one of them is getting made fun of all the time? Doesn't sound to healthy to me."

"I don't think it's like always like that." Hamaguchi began. "Or at least, not to that extreme."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I've heard Nishikata mention several times how he wants to get away from her, yet every opportunity he's had, he's turned down giving the excuse that he can't just let her get away with all the teasing she does." He shoved his hands into his pockets as he looked up. "It seems more like a rivalry where Nishikata always loses."

"Yeah." Houjou said as she looked up. "I guess it does seem like that. It doesn't sound like a relationship I would want thought."

"You have one in mind?" Hamaguchi asked as he quickly turned to look at her.

She glanced at him for a moment and blushed. "Well … I … I guess I would want a more mature relationship that isn't filled with childish antics like that." She shook her head. "I mean, with a relationship like theirs, I actually believed that the second part of the rumor when I first heard it."

"Second part?"

Back at the school, Nishikata was, once again, standing in front of the teacher's desk being scolded by his teacher, . "The science class needs to be cleaned again, and you still have to make up for being disruptive."

"Yes sir." Nishikata said half heartedly. '_Why can't everyone else just clean up after themselves for once.'_

"But, you have been less disruptive in the past few days, which is good. Keep it up and you won't have to stay after for much longer."

Nishikata felt like he should be happy, but he wasn't; he knew the only reason that this was the case was because things between him and Takagi weren't going well.

"Hey." Tanabe began. "You still look disappointed."

"Do I?"

Tanabe looked at him for a moment. "Is everything all right at home?"

"At home? Yeah, everything's fine, I'm just … tired I guess."

"Then get some rest when you get home."

"Okay, thanks."

Nishikata began walking out when his teacher placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not so grateful that I don't notice something wrong, if you need help then you should talk to someone."

"I'm fine, really." He said while trying to fake a smile.

Tanabe didn't look convinced but let him go all the same. "Just be sure that you're thorough, and try to continue to not be disruptive."

Nishikata stared at him for a moment before walking out of the class room and closing the door behind him. '_Damn, it must be really bad if even the teacher notices.' _He stopped walking as he began to think again. '_Having things be so bad between Takagi and I is really messing me up, isn't it? Maybe she is more important to me than I'm letting myself believe.'_

Before he could make his way up the stairs, he was stopped by another hand on his shoulder, one that felt more familiar to him. "Hey Nishikata." Came Takagi's voice. "You … still want to walk home today?"

"I can't." Nishikata replied. "I have to clean the science class again."

"Oh, well … how about I clean it with you?"

Nishikata let out a loud sigh. "No, I've got it,"

"But-"

"I've got it." Nishikata interrupted. "I'll … I'll see you tomorrow."

Nishikata began walking but as he did, he could almost hear someone talking to Takagi behind him. '_Don't pay it any mind Nishikata.' _He thought to himself. '_You have a job to do.'_

As he reached the science room, he pulled the broom out of the closet and got to cleaning. "I just need to get this over with."

After some time, and nearly finishing with the floor, he noticed a boy from his class standing at the door staring at him. "Um, hi?"

"Hey Nishikata, stuck doing cleaning again?" The boy asked.

"Yeah." Nishikata said as he went back to sweeping. "All thanks to Takagi and her endless teasing." He let out a sigh and paused. "Though I might not have to do this much longer."

"Well that's good and all, but why do you say that?"

"Because it seems like Takagi is teasing me less and less every day. Personally, I think it's kinda a relief." Nishikata lied.

"Cool, so then what they're saying is true then?"

"What are they saying?"

"That you hate Takagi."


	15. Chapter 15

**So here we have a short chapter, I hope you guys don't mind. Now to get to the reviews.**

**Rinto: I'm glad you're so invested and that my story is driving you insane.**

**andreasgl713: Thank you, and I'm willing to bet that you'll enjoy this chapter even more.**

**SpoobyHD: I'm sorry I couldn't post this to FF earlier in the day, I'm happy that you like it though.**

* * *

Nishikata could feel his heart stop as his mouth fell open and the broom dropped from his hand. '_I … I hate Takagi?'_

"So … you don't mind if I asked her out?"

"I COULD NEVER HATE TAKAGI!" He exclaimed as he marched over to the door.

"Hey, take it easy." The other boy said as he began to back up. "I was just telling you what I-"

Nishikata grabbed his collar and looked him in the eye as if he was about to lose it. "Who told you that I hated her?"

"A few people, it's just something that's been going around is all, I have no idea who started it." He pleaded.

Nishikata let him go and began taking a deep breath to calm himself. "I don't hate her, and yes, I do mind if you ask her out."

"Wait, so, you do love her?"

"No, you just pissed me off and bothered to ask. Now get lost."

The other boy slowly backed away as Nishikata went back to cleaning. "Hamaguchi, Takao, I don't know which of you did this, but I'm going to make you regret it." He paused as he remembered his confrontation with Takagi earlier. "I totally blew her off earlier, didn't I?" He sighed and leaned on the broom. "That's probably going to come back to bite me later."

He put the broom down and pulled out his phone. "I really need to call her and set things straight."

Elsewhere, Takagi was making her way out of the school while trying not to think about the interaction that just took place. "That can't be right, it just can't be. What they said can't be true."

_Flashback_

"I've got it. I'll … I'll see you tomorrow." Nishikata said before leaving Takagi by herself.

"Nishikata." Takagi said softly

"Wow, I didn't expect it to be true." Came a voice from behind her. Takagi turned around and saw a girl she knew from class. "I'm sorry Takagi."

"Huh?" Takagi replied. "Sorry for what?"

"Well … I heard a rumor … that Nishikata hates you."

_End flashback_

"That has to be wrong." She said as she began to walk faster. "It's probably just people making assumptions based on limited info, Nishikata would never hate me." She continued to attempt to rationalize it, though no matter what, she still felt hurt. "But why do I feel like it's true?"

"Takagi!" Shouted Takagawa who was running towards her. "Takagi, I heard the rumors."

"I'm … I'll be okay." She said as she resumed walking. "I know it's not true so …" She shook her head. "I'm … worried."

"You?"

"Yeah, I think we might actually be starting to drift apart." She rubbed her arm. "He's been pushing me away a lot lately, and even if he doesn't hate me, the rumor had to come from somewhere."

"I'm sure it's just a rough patch is all."

Takagi sighed as the two of them left the school. "If only that girl didn't give him that letter." She sighed and shook her head. "No, if only it wasn't broadcast to the entire school."

"I'm … sure that it's not what it looks like." She smiles and jumped in front of Takagi. "How about we go to the mall and get something to eat, that'll make you feel better."

"That does sound nice." She reached into her bag and looked for her phone. "Just let me tell my mom so she doesn't worry." She pulled out her phone but paused as she looked at the screen. "I don't remember turning it off." She messed around with it a little causing the screen to light up with a red battery. "How … I forgot to charge it last night."

"That's okay." Takagawa said as she pulled out her phone. "Just use mine."

"Thanks." Takagi said as she received the Takagawa's phone. She began typing in her phone number, but before she could finish, there was a ping signaling the phone received a text message. "Oh, you have a message."

"Who's it from?"

"It's from-" Takagi's eyes went wide as she saw the name.

"Takagi?" Takagawa asked. She was confused at first, but she soon began to worry about what was going on. "Takagi." She asked, a little more concerned. "Who is it?"

"Sumire?" She began as she turned the phone around. "When did you get Nishikata's contact info?"


	16. Chapter 16

**So I hope you all had a great holiday, and are all looking foreword to new years, I know I sure am ... as much as I can anyway. Let's hit up those reviews!**

**andreasgl713: Truith be told, I was actually on the fence on what to put for Nishikata's response up until the very end so I'm really glad you like it.**

**Domi2125: Perdóname, el español no es mi lengua materna (en realidad no sé nada, estoy usando un traductor en línea) pero no te preocupes, las cosas solo están comenzando**

**qWescas: Bueno, toda la historia está hecha, solo necesito publicarla lentamente para poder divertirme**

* * *

"Look Takagi, it's not what you think." Takagawa pleaded.

"You do own a pink hoodie."

"I can explain!"

"I hope so cause I know you don't have a crush on Nishikata."

Takagawa let out a sigh of relief. "Good, for a minute there I was worried that you'd be upset that I sent him that letter."

"So it was you."

Takagawa froze. "Oh … yeah, that was me. But you have to believe me, I only wanted to ask him for advice, I don't have any feelings for him."

"I know." Takagi began. "What I don't know, is why you kept it a secret from me, and everyone, especially since so much has happened that could have been solved by a simple explanation."

"Oh … that … well, I was afraid that you might get the wrong idea and I didn't want to make you upset."

"Why was the message designed to look like a love letter?"

"Because I didn't want anyone else to see it; you said he gets really embarrassed by stuff like that, so I figured that he would do a better job keeping it secret before I could tell him to keep it secret."

"Yet that backfired."

"How was I supposed to know that he and his friends were having a blood feud?"

"Wait, what blood feud?"

Takagawa sighed. "I don't know the specifics, but Nishikata told me to keep the gist of it a secret."

"Well that would explain why he's been so distraught lately." She scratched her chin and began thinking. "You said that he asked you not to tell anyone anything about it?"

"I'm fairly sure he didn't want me to mention it at all so … yeah."

"Hm …"

"By the way, what did he message me about?"

"Oh, I didn't look at that part." She handed the phone back to Takagawa. "I figured it was personal."

Takagawa took her phone and read the message. "Please help, there is a terrible rumor going around that I hate Takagi. Worse, I accidentally blew her off, and now her phone is going directly to voicemail. I'm worried she blocked me, what do I do? I need advice."

Takagi walked over and looked at the phone with Takagawa. "He sounds concerned."

"He sure does." Takagawa said as she began typing her reply.

**Takagawa: **She's with me now, her phone ran out of power so that's why she didn't pick it up.

**Nishikata: **That's a relief, but what should I say to her?

Takagi looked at Takagawa with a hint of concern. "I don't think he understood what you meant by, 'she's with me now.'"

Takagawa ignored Takagi and typed in a response.

**Takagawa: **You don't hate her, right?

**Nishikata: **I could never hate her; sure, I get annoyed when she teases me sometimes, but she's really grown on me and means a lot to me.

Takagi looked at Takagawa showing a little more concern. "Maybe I should step away?"

"No, stay right there."

**Nishikata: **But, please don't tell her I said that.

Takagawa glances over at Takagi before typing her response.

**Takagawa: **I can assure you that I won't tell her anything.

**Nishikata: **Thanks, I'm not even sure what I'll say to her.

**Takagawa: **Oh, I'm sure no matter what you say, you'll get your point across. But if you want my opinion, just tell her the truth, that should make things better.

**Nishikata: **I hope. I kinda need to figure out what that is myself so, I'll just talk to her tomorrow. I'm sure I'll be able to think of something by then. But before all that, I need to silence this rumor.

**Takagawa: **Okay, talk to you later.

She put her phone away and turned to Takagi. "There, he deeply cares about you, and wants to spend the rest of his life with you, feel better?"

"He didn't say that last part."

"Doesn't matter, are we good? Or should I invite him to the mall with us do you can trick him into having a romantic moment?"

She looked down at Takagawa's phone then back to her. "When he talks to me tomorrow, I'm telling him I saw that conversation."

"You wouldn't."

"I can't lie to him, now can I?"

At the same time, Yukari and her friends were also on their way home. '_I figured one of them would have won by now.' _Yukari thought to herself. '_I guess they've been too busy sabotaging each other. But if none of them win, then do I just keep the tickets?'_

"Hey! Yukari!" Mina shouted.

"Huh?" Yukari sputtered as she snapped to attention.

"Seriously Yukari, you've been out of it all week, what's going on?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sanae began. "She's thinking about a boy."

"I am not!" Yukari shot back.

"Oh that's right, weren't you with Nishikata at lunch today?" Mina asked.

"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?"

"I think what Mina's trying to say is, you're into him, right?"

"I am not!"

"But you two were eating lunch together."

"That doesn't mean we're going out, or that I like him. Besides, he's into Takagi, not me."

"You keep saying that but never have any proof." Sanae replies.

"Well, he told me that … not in as many words but-"

"If he didn't say it, then it's not true." Mina stated proudly.

"Geez, can't a guy and a girl eat together without people thinking their dating?"

"You know what?" Mina began. "I bet that was you who was on the roof with him as well."

"THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE!"

"Yeah Mina, she was with us when all that went down."

Mina stared blankly at them for a moment before her eyes lit up. "So it's a love triangle then!?"

'_Seriously? Now you guys want to talk about romance?' _"THERE IS NO LOVE TRIANGLE! I DON'T LIKE NISHIKATA!"

"We're being watched." Sanae said as she looked off to the side.

Both Yukari and Mina looked in the same direction as Sanae and saw two boys quickly duck behind a corner. "We know you're there." Sanae exclaimed.

The two boys sheepishly walked out from behind the corner and it only took Yukari a moment to recognize the two. "Hey, you're Takao and … Kimura, right?"

"We were just passing through!" Kimura exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's it." Takao added.

Sanae took one step in their direction and they ran off, scared for their life. "Figures, cowards."

"Maybe it's because you're too intense." Yukari stated.

"Yeah, they said they were just passing through." Mina added.

"You're too gullible." Sanae said as she began walking again.

"I AM NOT!" Mina said as she chased after.

Yukari stood there and let out a sigh of relief. "Well Takao doesn't have a chance, that leaves Nishikata and Hamaguchi." She began walking again. "Well, at least they stopped talking about me and Nishikata."

"Oh, by the way." Mina began. "You guys want to go to the concert tomorrow?"

"Huh?" Yukari said as she looked at Mina. "You have tickets?"

"Nope, but it wouldn't be too hard to get them, right?"

"I really don't care for concerts." Sanae answered. "Too loud and cramped."

"Aw, come on!"

"Well you couldn't get tickets this late anyway." Yukari added. "The last tickets sold out Monday."

Mina's eyes began to water and she looked pleadingly at her friends. "Please?"

"There's no way I'm going." Sanae replied. "And we couldn't get tickets, even if we tried."

"Aw, that's no fair!"


	17. Chapter 17

**And so we have another chapter ready for posting, I hope you all enjoy.**

Domi2125: Puedo decir que el traductor de Google no es bueno para traducir español al inglés, pero gracias por la revisión.

Andreasgl713: *evil smile*

Rinto: I know how you feel, I also hate it when they fight.

* * *

The following day had come, and Nishikata was in a furious march to get to the school. '_Damn you two. Takao, Hamaguchi, which of you two started this rumor? I'm going to make you regret it!' _He continued his march, slowing down a little when he remembered that he was still walking to school alone. '_And it's because of you that Takagi isn't talking to me, damn, what I wouldn't give to hear her tease me just once.'_

He stopped as he managed to process the words that went through his head. '_Wait, why would I-' _He placed his hands on his head and began to panic. '_What is wrong with me?!'_

After a short panic, he regained his composure and started walking again. '_Why do I feel so conflicted? It's Takagi, I want to get back at her, not be teased by her for the rest of my life. I mean, sure, I … like her, but not like that … right?'_

He pushed aside his emotions and continued his walk alone. "I need to deal with the two traitors first, then I'll handle my mixed feelings."

Meanwhile, at school, Takagi had already arrived and was leaning against a wall in the hall with her head down. "So what do I do?"

"Hey." A boy said as he walked up to her. "So … um … are you-"

"If you're about to confess something to me, I suggest you reconsider." She said without even looking up at him.

"Uh … I … Look, I know that it isn't easy finding out that Nishikata-"

"Even if the rumor was true, you think someone like me would consider a rebound?" She looked up at the boy and gave him an annoyed look. "If that's the case, you don't know me at all, and that means I'm not interested."

"Who said-"

"Am I wrong?"

The boy was quiet for a moment before turning to the side. "You don't have to be so mean about it."

"Mean? Mean is being harassed by guys who think they have a chance, just because of some fake rumor that they could easily find the illegitimacy of, time and time again." She looked away and closed her eyes. "You could have, at the very least, waited a few days."

"Uh … yeah." He took a step back. "I'm … sorry."

Takagi sighed and turned to face the boy. "I'll give you this, you're a lot nicer than some of the others who've approached me today … sorry for coming off a little hard."

"It's fine." He began backing away again. "I'll see you around."

And with that, he left, leaving Takagi alone with her thoughts once more. "Good, now where was I?"

"Takagi!" She heard Takagawa call.

Takagi looked up to see her friend walking over to her with a smile on her face. "Having a rough morning?"

"You don't know the half of it." She replied as she looked up. "There have been no less than five boys who have tried to ask me out, none of which I know."

"Well the rumor will go away when things between you and Nishikata go back to normal."

"Yeah but," Her smile weakened as she looked down. "Will they?"

"Huh?"

"Will things really go back to normal?"

"You saw the text, he said he wants to make up with you and that you mean a lot to him."

"Yeah … but he's … never actually thought that way about me before."

"Well, that means there's progress."

Takagi smiled and shook her head. "Except for when we practiced tandem riding, every time we've met outside of school was by complete chance, or him trying to get back at me. I mean … except for the summer festival. With the way he said how much I mean to him, I don't think that will be the case for much longer."

"But you want that, right?"

Takagi remained silent.

"I mean you even asked him for … wait … are you … nervous?"

Takagi looked away as her face reddened a bit.

"Oh my, you are totally nervous! Man, you know what Nishikata would do if he found out about this?"

"He'd know I have a weakness to a big change in our relationship? Which is why he's _not _going to find out about it." She sighed. "And … I'm … extremely nervous. I'm going to have to try harder to tease him."

"That's something I can't help you with."

"Yeah, I have to take care of it myself." She turned her head to look up. "You remember what you said a few days ago? About if I was worried that I'm teasing him too much?"

"Yeah."

"Sometimes I am worried about that; like, maybe I might accidentally push things too far because I can't help it. Then he may actually hate me."

"I really don't see that happening."

"I do. Like how I taught him things that weren't on a test that was coming up, he seemed furious with me. I'm just glad that didn't stick." She stood there for a moment before turning to Tkagawa. "Speaking of being angry, any idea what's happening between Nishikata and his friends?"

"I wish I did, it would have saved me a big headache."

Back with Nishikata, he had just entered the school and was looking for the two people he used to call his friends, Takao, and Hamaguchi. "Damn them. When I find out whichever one of them did this, I'm going to make them sorry."

He continued roaming the halls, but didn't find any trace of either of them. After some time though, he did run into the boy who he first heard the rumor from. "HEY!" He said as he approached him.

"Huh?" The boy said as he turned to see Nishikata making a death strut in his direction. "Hey." He said as he backed up.

"I've got questions for you." Nishikata began. "For starters, where did you hear that rumor from?"

"What rumor?" He asked.

"The one from yesterday, where did it start?"

"I told you yesterday, here and there, from a few people, I don't know where it started."

"Fine then, where's Takao and Hamaguchi!"

"Why would you want them?"

"TELL ME!"

"Easy man." Cozzy said as he backed up. "I haven't seen them yet."

Nishikata sighed and began walking away. "If you do see them, tell them I'm looking for them, and I have a score to settle."

Nishikata continued walking down the halls, but after noticing the time, he realized that he needed to get to class. "I have first period with both of them, right? Maybe if I'm quick, I can get to them before the teacher comes in." He smashed his fist into his hand. "And then I'll make them pay!"

Meanwhile, in the classroom, Hamaguchi was sitting nervously in his seat with his leg bumping up and down. '_Man, where is that teacher?' _He thought to himself. '_He's going to think I'm the one responsible for that rumor Takao started and-' _His thought process was interrupted by a hand being placed on his shoulder which caused him to jump.

"Easy." Came a voice that wasn't Nishikata's. "I just want to talk."

Hamaguchi turned around to see Takagi standing behind him looking concerned. "Oh, just talk?"

"Yeah, are all boys this jumpy?"

"No, I'm just … worried."

"About what?"

"Nishikata probably thinks I started a … very bad rumor about him, and is probably looking to kill me right now."

"You mean the one about him hating me?"

"It's not true!" He exclaimed.

Takagi's expression went from concerned to accusatory. "I know."

"Oh, you do?" He turned back around. "That's good to know."

"Now how about answering my question?" She asked as she walked around. "What is going on with Nishikata? He's been acting weird, ever since Monday."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Hamaguchi said as he looked away.

"Oh, is that so?" She walked around again until she was able to see his face. "You know, Nishikata currently isn't going anywhere near me, so as long as I'm standing near you, you're safe from him."

"Huh?"

Takagi pointed towards the door and soon enough, Nishikata came through looking around like he was ready to kill someone. It only took him a second to locate Hamaguchi, but just like Takagi said, he just moved to his seat, keeping an eye on him as if ready to kill him.

"So, you want to tell me what happened?"

"I … I can't."

Takagi's eyes narrowed. "That's … too bad."

"No, you don't understand." Hamaguchi hissed trying to make it so Nishikata couldn't hear him. "It's supposed to be a secret."

"Hm? Then tell me what you can."

Hamaguchi sighed. "Look, I can't tell you the specifics, or much of anything. What I can tell you, is that Nishikata agreed to be a part of it. No one forced him, not me, and not Takao."

"Takao?" She asked. "That's another one of your friends."

"Yeah, and?"

Her eyes narrowed again. "You didn't mention your other friend … Kimura I think his name was."

"Yeah, he didn't force him either."

She was silent for a moment. "You three are having a competition, aren't you?"

'_Shit.' _Hamaguchi thought as he began to panic. '_Does this mean I'm disqualified? No, I didn't mention the contest itself … but it was supposed to be that no one can find out about it.'_

"Judging by the look on your face, I must be on the right track. But seeing as you're silent, I take it that it's a secret contest."

'_How the heck was she able to figure that out?' _"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Is winning this contest really worth your safety?"

He glanced back at Nishikata who still looked like he was ready to kill him. "All I did was deliver a letter, and point to the roof, nothing else. Why should I have to take the punishment for what Takao most likely did?"

Takagi looked at him for a few moments until the teacher walked in. "Okay, everyone take your seats, it's time to start class."

'_Oh, thank god.' _Hamaguchi thought to himself.

"Sorry I'm late!" Takao exclaimed as he rushed through the door.

"I guess you're safe for now, but I still want to know what happened."

'_Damn it, Nishikata was right, there's no way to outsmart her.'_


	18. Chapter 18

**Hi there again, I've finished adjusting another chapter and it's all ready for you guys. I hope you enjoy and there is an authors note at the end.**

**Rinto: Indeed**

**Dapper64: And I look forward to writing more**

** : vielen Dank.**

* * *

Hamaguchi and Takao had managed to avoid Nishikata for the majority of the day thus far, but lunch was quickly coming up, and they were quickly running out of places to hide.

_'Damn, I need to find a way out of this.' _Hamaguchi thought as he quickly made his way from the gym to the school yard. _'But how am I supposed to do that?'_

He continued on his way, but before he reached the school yard, he saw Takao trying to sneak into it. "YOU!" He exclaimed as he ran up to him.

"YOU!" Takao exclaimed back.

"What's the big idea? Now Nishikata thinks that I'm responsible for that damn rumor you spread."

"I spread?" Takao replied. "I did no such thing, you're the one making my life difficult!"

"Huh?"

"THERE YOU TWO ARE!" Nishikata shouted as he began marching towards them.

They tried to run but it was already too late, as Nishikata managed to grab both their collars and push them against the wall. "Now tell me, which of you made that rumor?"

They each pointed to the other.

"I'm losing my patience, what happened Tuesday was rude, but this is crossing a line, so one of you better fess up!"

"It wasn't me!" Takao exclaimed. "All I did was follow you when you ditched Takagi for something I heard was important! When I saw you go to the roof and saw that letter, I thought I had a chance to get the upper hand!"

"It wasn't me either." Hamaguchi added. "And yes, I knew what would happen when I slipped that letter into your bag. But other than pointing the two of you out, I didn't do anything." He tried to struggle so he could breathe better. "And why does it even matter to you?"

"You know damn well-"

"Yeah, I do know, but apparently, you don't!" Nishikata was shocked as Hamaguchi continued. "You say all the time how you just want to tease her, but the second someone offends her, or your … whatever you have with her, you get upset."

"I-"

"Seriously Nishikata! Who are you even angry with?!"

Nishikata was in shock as he held his two friends against the wall, as all the complicated feelings he pushed down came flooding back to him. "I … I don't-"

"NISHIKATA!" Came a voice from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see his other friend, Kemura, standing there with an angry look on his face. "Put them down, neither of them are responsible for the rumor."

"Their not?" Nishikata asked.

"No, I asked a few other students and found where it really came from."

"And where's that!"

Kemura pointed directly at Nishikata, causing him to just stand there stunned. "Apparently, yesterday some people heard you say … no, shout, that you don't like Takagi."

Nishikata was devastated and dropped Hamaguchi and Takao as a result, who promptly ran off. "How … how do they go from 'I don't like her' to 'I hate her'?"

"Larger rumors have been started with less, that's what makes them rumors." He placed a hand on Nishikata's shoulder. "And honestly, I think you might need to take a long look in the mirror."

"I … what do you mean?"

"I mean I've noticed something off and I would like to help. Thing is, I need you to fill in some blanks for me. So tell me, what is going on between you and Takagi?"

"Oh, that." He looked down, still feeling despondent. "The thing is, I'm not really sure myself, apparently, everyone thinks I have a crush on her, but I don't have the slightest clue how I feel about her." He sighed. "If someone had asked me last week, I would have denied it, but for some reason, I feel all mixed up inside every time I think about her."

"Well, there's something I noticed, and I would like to ask a question."

"Okay … what is it."

"When you think of Takagi, how would you describe the … thing … you have with her?"

"Oh, that? Well …" He looked up and to his right as he searched for the words. "I mean we compete a lot … though I always lose unless she needs me to win to tease me more, in which case, I still a loss. We sit next to each other, we sometimes help each other out, I kinda enjoy hanging out with her, even when she teases me … things like that."

"Interesting … it looks like I was right."

"Right about what?"

He opened his eyes slightly. "In the entire time I've known you, and even just now, you've never once ever referred to Takagi as a friend."

It took Nishikata a moment for Kimura's words to sink in, but when they did, he stepped back in shock. "HUH!? What are you saying?"

"You've never responded to an accusation of the two of you dating with, 'She's just a friend.' It's always just that the two of you aren't dating."

"So?"

"You make it seem like there's nothing there at all when everyone knows that, at the absolute least, there's something."

"I don't … Takagi and I … we're … uh …"

"If it's alright with you, may I see your contacts?" He asked as he held out his hand.

Nishikata was confused, but handed his phone over all the same. "Well, I can tell you right now that she's on there, but that's because I wanted to try to use my phone to tease her."

"Uh huh." He said as he looked through Nishikata's contacts. "That's an interesting picture you have attached to her contact."

"AH!" He exclaimed as he grabbed the phone back from him. "That … that … she said it was embarrassing so I kept it in case I needed to use it against her later."

"A picture of her giving you the peace sign? How is that embarrassing?"

"She just said it was. She also told me to not show anyone so if you could keep this between us."

"Yeah that's fine, but you're more lost than you realize."

"How so?"

He placed a hand on Nishikata's shoulder and smiled. "There's an old saying, it's difficult to find out where you want to go, if you don't know where you are first."

"Really? Who said that?"

"I forget, I think it was from a cartoon though."

"HUH!?"

"It's still good advice. And for you, I think it means that you need to find out what exactly is currently going on between you and Takagi, before you can properly find out how you feel about her."

"You think that will help?"

"Who knows, it might. But I'm hungry, so let's go eat." Kimura began walking as Nishikata was left to think about what he said. "Where I am? Hm." He placed his hand on his chin and began thinking. "Where is that exactly?"

**A/N: I know, I know, I know, in the new season 2 dub, episode 2, valentines chapter, Takagi refers to Nishikata as a friend when she gives him chocolate. This chapter was written prior to me seeing that (yes, it was written that much in advance) and I honestly like the sub for that one better. Also, I didn't want to change it cause I thought it would be a nice plot point for part of a story.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Who's ready for another chapter? Everyone? Well, who knows my style and knows what's about to happen? Let's hit up those reviews!**

**Mooncake713: Oh, I don't take people for granted, but I must ask, you said you would love to see Nishikata jealous? Because there's a chapter in the manga (that hasn't come out in english yet yet) where she does just that. The chapter itself is called Crocheting (or at least that's what the translator called it).**

* * *

School was coming to a close and Nishikata had begun packing up the remainder of his things. '_Should I ask her?' _He thought as he glanced over at Takagi. '_I mean, I still don't know what to say exactly … and I still need to think about what Kimura said.' _He threw his bag over his shoulder and glanced over at her again. '_Because of all this, she hasn't teased me much this week, I need to think of a new rule for push-ups for when things like this happen.'_

She glanced up, and for a moment, they locked eyes. "Huh?" She mumbled.

Nishikata quickly looked away, pretending that he wasn't just staring at her.

"Nishikata?" Takagi asked. "Did you … want to talk to me about something?"

'_And there she goes, knowing my every thought. I might as well say something though.' _"I … kinda."

"Well, what is it?"

"I … don't exactly know how to put it into words … and I don't really understand it myself yet."

"Oh, so … you need some time alone then?"

"Yeah, I'll call you later." He began walking away before turning around to address her once more. "I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." She said with a smile.

Nishikata resumed walking as he began thinking of his predicament. '_How do I see Takagi now? Well, what are we?' _He groaned and threw his head back. '_Maybe I should just wait till I get home to think on this.'_

As he began walking out of the school, he noticed Nakai and Mano walking in his direction. "Oh, hey guys."

"Hey! Nishikata!" Nakai greeted enthusiastically. "So uh, we wanted to ask you something."

"Oh, really?" He paused and put his hand out. "Wait, if this is about the rumor-"

"It's not." Nakai interrupted. "It's actually … are you going to be okay?"

"Huh? Why do you ask that?"

"Because we're worried about you." Mano replied.

Nishikata sighed. "Thanks guys, but I need to do some thinking."

"Well then, best of luck man." Nakai said as he gave him a thumbs up. "And if you ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask."

"Thanks."

They parted ways and Nishikata began the long walk home by himself.

It didn't take him too long to get home, but he was hoping that it would take longer so he wouldn't have to face thinking about this whole thing so soon. "Well, here goes nothing."

He walked inside and went up to his room where he threw himself onto his bed. "Man, now where do I start? I guess with what Takagi and I actually are." He pulled out his phone and pulled up the picture he had of her. "Well I don't hate her, that's a start. But what else?" He looked deeply into the photo and felt at ease. "Are we rivals? I guess that doesn't really narrow it down. We're not dating, that definitely needs some form declaration." He put his phone away and looked at the ceiling. "Well are we friends? We do … sometimes hang out." He stayed there for a few minutes before rolling over. "She teases me almost every day though, and it's just because she likes seeing my reactions. Maybe I don't-"

He froze as a memory popped into his head.

_Flashback_

_Takagi and Nishikata were on their way home from school together and Nishikata was falling with his two choice questions._

'_Grr, I underestimated her, I'll need a better question than that.' Nishikata thought as they walked._

"_Nishikata?" Takagi asked._

"_What?"_

"_Well you've asked me two weird questions in a row, what's your angle? Are you just trying to give me a hard time?"_

"_Huh!" Nishikata felt exposed, Takagi had read him right once again but he wasn't about to give up. "Not … really."_

"_Fine, then I'll ask you one now. Would you rather that I disappear, or that you'd have to be teased by me forever? What'll you choose?"_

"_Huh?" Nishikata began nervously. "What do you mean disappear?"_

"_Poof, I'm gone."_

_End flashback._

"And I said that I would rather be teased forever, than have her disappear." He sighed and looked over at his wall. "After something like that, I'd have to be some kind of jerk to deny that there's something positive between us." He groaned and rolled to the side of his bed. "She's nice from time to time and it's nice being with her, even when she's teasing me."

He looked over at his desk and noticed the paper Takagi made in calligraphy class that he had pinned above his desk. "Status quo … not like we'll be able to keep that much longer." He thought to himself some more and remembered the conversation he had with Takagawa. "And I said she means a lot to me." He sat up and pulled out his phone. "I'm a compleat idiot."

He scrolled through his contacts until he got to Takagi. "Of course she's a friend, and I never even considered it. Damn I'm a jerk."

He waited for a few seconds and almost instantly, she picked up.

"Nishikata?" She asked.

"Hey … Takagi … like I said at school … there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"So you finally have the words?"

"Not exactly … but I finally have a clearer picture."

"Well, I may be able to save you some trouble."

"Huh? How so?"

"Well … I don't think you really understood what Sumire meant when she said that I was with her."

"Huh?"

"I mean, a better statement would have been 'I was standing right next to her.'"

Fear began to build up inside Nishikata as he began to suspect what she was talking about. "Hey … Takagi … when you mentioned Sumire … is that Takagawa's first name?"

"Well yeah, she didn't tell you?"

Nishikata's face became redder and redder as his heart began to speed up. "Takagi?"

"Well, if I didn't know any better, I would have assumed that you were in love with me."

She burst into laughter as Nishikata's mind went into full on panic mode at this new information '_CRAP CRAP CRAP! THIS IS THE WORST THING THAT COULD EVER HAPPEN!"_

"But in all seriousness, seeing what you wrote really made my day."

"Huh?" Nishikata asked as his mood instantly changed.

"I mean I knew that the rumor was fake … but seeing you say that … made me feel a lot better."

"Takagi."

"And … I should be fair, you mean a lot to me too Nishikata."

Nishikata's heart skipped a beat as he felt a comforting warm sensation inside him. "Well … it's the truth, I don't like to be teased but … we've spent so much time together … that actually brings me to the reason I wanted to call you."

"Really? What's that?"

"It's … mostly an apology."

"For what?"

Nishikata took a deep breath as he prepared himself for what he was about to say. "You mean a lot to me but … I've never taken the chance to call you my friend."

"Huh?"

"I mean we spend so much time together, we walk home together a lot, we bump into each other outside of school more than a few times, but I've been avoiding it … and I'm sorry."

There was a long silence from the other end and Nishikata began to worry. "Takagi?"

"Did you even ask if I wanted to be friends?" Nishikata's face went red again but Takagi quickly burst into laughter causing him to become less uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. That's actually very sweet of you. Also … I guess I'm kinda guilty of that as well."

"You … no, I'm the one who created tension between us."

"We're not about to have a guilt off, are we?" She asked with a laugh.

"I guess that would be silly … so, friends?"

"You sure you want to do this? If we spend even more time together than there's a greater chance that people will get the wrong idea about us."

Nishikata paused as he though her words over; normally, the thought of people getting the wrong idea about him and Takagi would make him extremely embarrassed, but after all that's happened, he didn't care any longer. "If people are going to get the wrong idea anyway, I'd prefer that they think I love you, rather than hated you."

There was a long silence, so long that Nishikata began to worry that they might have gotten disconnected. "Takagi? You still there?"

"Oh, right." She said sounding a little surprised. "I … if you're sure then … friends."

"Friends."

"Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get to homework."

"Okay, so I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, it's been awhile since we walked to school together."

"It's only been a week."

"Still, I'm looking forward to it."

"Yeah, so am I."

"Okay, okay, I'll talk to you later."

"See ya."

They both hung up and Nishikata stared at his phone as the strange conflicting feeling was replaced by a comfortable warm feeling. "Takagi."

Over with Takagi however, things weren't as calm. She was sitting on her bed with her phone held against her chest as she was shaking like crazy. "Nishikata." She said with a smile. Her face was bright red and she was on the verge of crying tears of joy. "If only you knew how easy it was for you to win." She laid down and stared at the ceiling. "I guess things are growing between us … I wonder how much longer I have."

Back with Nishikata, he stood there with his phone in his hand and his other hand on his chest, his feelings clearer than they were before. "I … I really do love Takagi … I can't believe I actually said that." He rubbed his forehead as a smile formed on his face. "They were right, Takagawa, Amakawa." He frowned. "Half the other kids at school." He sighed and smiled again. "I really do love her, even if she does tease me."

He took a moment to enjoy his realization, but soon, the harsh reality came crashing down on him as sadness filled his heart. "But … she probably doesn't feel the same … does she?"

He began to shake for a moment before throwing his phone against the bed, causing it to bounce and land on his desk. "DAMN IT!" He threw himself onto the bed and began crying. "Why? Why does this have to happen to me? Takagi could get any guy she wants, she would never fall for someone like me!"

* * *

**What did you think I was going to have happen?**


	20. Chapter 20

**And now I'm here with another chapter, not much else to say about it but I hope you enjoy.**

**Rinto: He still has a lot of growing to do**

* * *

The following morning, Nishikata was headed downstairs feeling sad and tired. "Morning." He said to his mom as he walked into the kitchen.

"Huh? Oh, good morning." His mom replied from next to the coffee maker. "You look tired, did you get enough sleep?"

Nishikata grabbed a small bowl and scooped some rice into it from the rice cooker. "Have you ever been so happy that it felt like nothing could ruin your mood, only to then have the world prove you wrong?"

"Ohhhh." She said as she looked at her son with concern in her eyes. "My little boy's fallen in love, hasn't he?"

'_Of course.' _He thought to himself. He walked over to the table and took a seat, but strangely, he didn't feel embarrassed. '_Maybe I have grown a little … or maybe I'm just so sad that it's not affecting me.' _"Yeah, is it that obvious?"

"Oh my, you must really be sad if you're not even going to get embarrassed or deny it."

"Yeah, well, it's either that or it's because I've just come to accept it." He picked up a pair of chopsticks and began eating. "And it's more of … I've realized that I like her, rather than I've fallen for her."

"Wow, when did this happen?"

"Last night, after I made up with her; we've been … huh?" He tried to think of the exact problem, but for some reason, came up blank. "I … I actually can't remember."

"That just means that it wasn't a big enough deal that you would let it come between you."

"No, that's not it." He began thinking as hard as he could, trying to remember exactly what happened. "It was … this week! Yeah, it all started this week. One of her friends came up to me for advice, some people took it way out of context and though that me and her friend were going out." A sad sensation came over him. "After that, she wasn't talking to me so … I assumed the worst. A few days later, some people take something I said out of context, again, and suddenly, the whole school thinks I hate her." He hung his head in shame. "I could never hate her." He shook his head and went back to his breakfast. "Anyway, we made up last night and I realized that I like her more than just a friend."

His mom smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's so sweet of you, and I'm sure that you'll make her very happy when she finds out."

"I wouldn't be so sure, there's no way she feels the same way about me."

"And why's that?"

Nishikata's head fell onto the table. "Because she's amazing, even her flaws make me happy to some degree, even if they annoy me."

She began to rub his shoulder as her smile turned mischievous. "So does that mean you're going to admit defeat and just accept that Takagi will never like you?"

A surge of energy pulsed through Nishikata as he sat up and accidentally snapped his chopsticks in his hand. "NO! Not that easy!" He stood up as he slammed his hands onto the table. "First I'm going to get back at her for teasing me so much, that'll be the first step to impressing Takagi!" He froze as he realized the words that just came out of his mouth. '_What a second.' _He turned to his mom who still had the mischievous smile on her face. "How did you-"

"Please, I'm your mother, I've known that you had feelings for Takagi for quite some time" She walked back to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup.

"Just like everyone else I've talked to." He mumbled.

"But if your plan involves getting back at her first, then I'm probably never going to be a grandmother."

Nishikata's face turned bright red as he turned to face his mother. "HUH! I can totally … and we … I mean … it's …"

"I see you're finally back to normal." She sipped her coffee as she smiled. "That's good to see. But you should really reconsider waiting until you get back at her."

Nishikata groaned as he turned away. "I'll … think about it." He said as he went to get a new pair of chopsticks.

He went back to eating his breakfast in relative silence, all the while thinking about what he was going to do next. '_If I want to best her, I'm going to have to stay away from things that could hurt her feelings. Not like I was able to pull those off without self sabotaging it anyway, but still.' _He finished up his breakfast and bid his mom farewell before leaving for school.

'_I should definitely try to focus on one thing at a time, I'll never be able to pull of both teasing her and making her fall for me at once. But how am I supposed to get her to fall for me? I don't even know her type.' _He continued down the road, and stopped at the place where he usually met up with Takagi. '_Takagawa might know … but … after what happened last time, I don't think I want to tell her about my newly discovered feelings.' _He sighed and leaned his head to the side. '_Takagi did say that she has a crush on someone in our class, I could always find out her type by finding out who that is. Then again, how am I going to do that?'_

"Hey Nishikata." Takagi greeted.

Nishikata looked up to greet her back but as soon as he saw her, he froze. There was absolutely itching different about her today, except that she didn't have her bike, but for some reason, just the sight of her made Nishikata's heart go into overdrive. '_Wow, she really is pretty … have I really been this in denial?'_

"Nishikata?" She asked again.

"Oh, good morning Takagi." He said as he finally managed to get himself to move. "Sorry, it's just … it's been a while."

"Yeah, I know." She smiled and walked up to him. "So, shall we get going?"

The two of them walked to school together and as far as anyone could tell, nothing had changed, though for Nishikata, this wasn't exactly true, and Takagi was a bit more active than usual.

'_Twenty times.' _Nishikata thought to himself as they got to school. '_She's teased me twenty times already.' _He let out a sigh as he finished changing his shoes and smiled. '_I can't believe how much I missed this.'_

"Nishikata?" Takagi asked catching his attention.

"What's up?"

"First, thanks again for … last night, and second … seeing as … we're officially friends now … you remember that concert that's happening tonight?"

Nishikata's eyes went wide as he remembered the very trigger that started this week of misfortune. '_Did I seriously forget about the contest?' _"Um, one second." He quickly pulled out his phone and began searching through his messages. '_Hamachi and Takao are supposed to message me if one of them wins … but I have no message yet so-' _"Takagi?" Nishikata began. "I … do remember, and I think I may be able to get my hands on a pair of tickets."

"Huh?"

"I mean … I might be late but if I can, would you want to … go to the concert with me tonight?"

Takagi looked at him a little surprised by what he said. "I mean … yeah, I would but-"

"Great." He grabbed her right hand and they began running down the hall as he tried to hold back a blush. '_Just don't think about it, I need those tickets' _He continued down the hall, looking around at every intersection until he finally found Yukari walking down the hall with her two friends Mina and Sanae.

"Amakawa!" He called out as he ran up to her with Takagi. "The others haven't won yet, have they?"

They all turned around and Mina looked at Yukari confused. "Wait." Mina began. "What's going on?"

Yukari laughed as she shook her head. "No, they haven't, but could you have been any more last minute?" She looked down and saw that Nishikata and Takagi were holding hands. "I mean, what was I supposed to do with the tickets if none of you made it in time?"

"Tickets?" Mina asked.

"Well …" Nishikata began as he scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "I don't know, I guess that never crossed our minds."

"It didn't cross mine either." She began looking for her bag. "I just need to confirm, Takagi, he did ask you to the concert, right?"

"Yeah …" She turned to Nishikata. "What's going on?"

Before Nishikata could give her an answer, Yukari pulled out two tickets and handed them to Nishikata. "Congratulations, you win."

"Yes!" He took the tickets and smiled triumphantly.

"Wait a second, Yukari, you had tickets?" Mina asked as she looked at the tickets Nishikata took. "You could have given them to us and we all could have gone."

Sanae looked to the side and groaned. "I told you I'm not interested."

"Yeah, and I was just holding onto them, they weren't actually mine."

"So, can someone tell me what's going on now?" Takagi asked again.

"Oh, right." He turned to Takagi and smiled sheepishly. "Well, Hamaguchi, Takao, and I were … kinda having a contest. You see, remember Monday when I was trying to get concert tickets?"

"Yeah, you said you couldn't get one."

"Well that was true, but the thing is, they weren't completely sold out, though Hamaguchi and Takao managed to get to the counter at the same time I did. We each wanted two and there weren't enough for all of us so … we had a contest."

"I figured the contest part out after talking to Hamaguchi yesterday."

"Wait-" he turned to Yukari. "Does that mean-"

"The rule was, whoever mentioned the contest was disqualified, so you're safe. Also, it's only if they mentioned it. You guys said nothing about someone else figuring it out on their own."

"Okay, that's good to hear." He turned back to Takagi. "Anyway, none of us thought that either of the other two would actually be able to ask the person they wanted to take, so to make sure that they didn't go to waste, the winner would be the first to ask the person they wanted to take." He turned to the side as he began to blush. "Also I … had to be holding your hand when I collected the tickets."

"Speaking of which." Yukari began as she held out her hand. "We need to get a picture as proof to send to the others."

"Oh, right." Nishikata put his bag down and pulled out his phone. "Oh, uh." He turned back to Takagi. "Takagi, do you want to be in the picture or-"

"Sure." She said as she leaned closer to him making him blush more.

"Uh, thanks." He unlocked his phone and handed it to Yukari.

"Okay." Yukari took a few steps back as Nishikata held up the tickets and the two of them smiled. "Say cheese!" There was a flash, then Yukari handed the phone back to Nishikata. "Please thank the others for the extra ticket."

"I will."

"Wait, you only got one extra?" Mina asked.

"Mina, I didn't even know you wanted to go until yesterday." Yukari said as they all walked off, leaving Nishikata and Takagi alone.

"So … did I forget anything?" Nishikata asked.

"So that competition was the 'blood feud' that Sumire said you couldn't talk about?"

"I didn't know she referred to it as a blood feud, but yeah; that's why my friends were trying to make my life miserable." Nishikata said as he sent his victory message to Hamaguchi and Takao.

As Nishikata finished up with his phone, Takagi was desperately trying to hold back a laugh, something that didn't last long as she soon burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"I don't even know where to start." She said as she regained her composure. "Okay … I think … there are three things. First, You did forget about the concert until I mentioned it, right?"

"Yeah, thanks for that by the way." He looked at Takagi's smiling face as something began to occur to him. "Wait … why did you bring that up?" She held back a laugh as Nishikata realized what she found so funny. "Please don't tell me … you already had tickets?"

Takagi nodded and Nishikata almost groaned as he almost burst into tears. "Did you really think that I wouldn't get tickets for my favorite band? I got three as soon as they went on sale."

"Three?" Nishikata asked as he stopped groaning.

"Yeah, one for me, one for Sumire, and one for another friend who had to cancel last week because of a family gathering."

"So … that last ticket …"

"I was going to ask you if you wanted to come Monday, but you seemed to be hiding something when you said you weren't able to get your hands on a ticket, so I decided to wait and see what happened."

Nishikata hung his head and sighed. "All that … this whole week … could have been avoided."

"Come on." Takagi motioned for them to move. "Let's make our way to class before we're late."

Nishikata picked his bag back up as he walked alongside her. "Well, at least one good thing came from all this."

"That we officially became friends?"

Nishikata nodded as his face turned red. "Ye-yeah, that's true."

"Speaking of which." Takagi began as Nishikata looked back at her. "You said you had to ask out the person you wanted to take with you." Nishikata's face turned bright red again as Takagi smiled. "Does that mean you have a crush on me?"

"NO, THAT'S NOT IT AT ALL!" Nishikata exclaimed. "I just thought that it would have been my best chance to get back at you since you would likely have your guard down!" His throat closed up as his mind finally caught up with his voice, leaving his mouth wide open. '_I just … blew my whole plan! All of that effort that proved to be pointless is now also wasted.'_

"Seriously?" Takagi said before laughing again. "Good idea, but there's no way it would have worked. How did you plan on asking me without it sounding like a date anyway?"

"I hadn't figured that part out yet, a lot of things came up."

"I noticed, so I guess that plan is going to be harder then, isn't it?"

"Well yeah, you know I'm plotting something, and Takagawa's going to be there making it harder." He paused as a thought came to his mind. "Speaking of which, what do we do with the extra tickets?"

"That's right." Takagi said as she looked ahead. "We have two extras now, so who do we give them to?"

"Well what about Takagawa's crush?"

"Mizuki? No, I don't think he likes concerts, also I don't think Sumire actually has the courage to ask him out yet."

Nishikata thought to himself for a moment before speaking up. "Nikai said that he wanted to get tickets so he could take Mano with him, or rather, Mano wanted to go so he wanted tickets."

"That's a great idea! All five of us can go as a group, it'll be so much more fun that way!"

"Uh." Nishikata looked away as he breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, sure it would." He paused again as he remembered that Takagi said that there were three things she points she wanted to talk about. "By the way, what was that third thing?"

Takagi smiled and pointed to the space between them. "You're still holding my hand."

Nishikata slowly turned down to look and see Takagi's hand still held in his. '_How … WHAT!' _He became flustered as his body refused to move. '_STOP! Stop what? Why? HOW!? What do I do? I need to stop holding her hand. Do I over react? Should I be casual? She'll think I love her if I do that!' _"AAAAAAH." He screamed as he jumped to the side, finally letting go. "I … I'm sorry! completely forgot!"

She laughed again as he stood there embarrassed. "You don't need to apologize, now come on."

Nishikata resumed walking next to Takagi as he silently cursed his luck. '_Damn, even when I win, I lose.' _He looked over at Takagi and felt his heart rate spike again. '_Then again, things didn't really align in the best way for me to try and trick her so, I guess it'll just be normal … friends hanging out.'_


	21. Chapter 21

**Another chapter is another chapter is another chapter is another chapter. No Idea where I was going with that but here is another chapter!**

**dapper64: Well I can't wait to show you, that doesn't mean I'm unwilling though, you'll still have to wait till Wednesday.**

**Rinto: Well, seeing as there are still many more chapters to go, it's only a matter of time till something else happens.**

**andreasgl713: Well you don't need to wait any longer ... though you will have to wait for chapter 22, that's still a few days away.**

* * *

The first class was still a ways from starting, and Hamaguchi was sitting by a window staring angrily at his phone. "Nishikata." He hissed. "Of course you win, you always outperform me." He sighed and put his phone away. "Well, I am happy that he managed to make up with Takagi, so, good for him."

"Something up?" Houjou asked as she came up behind him causing him to stagger to the side.

"Oh, hi there … Houjou." He greeted uneasily.

"So, what was that picture you were looking at?"

"Oh, this?" He asked as he held his phone upright again. "Well, Nishikata, Takao, and I were having a … contest, and the winner got the last pair of concert tickets that we managed to get our hands on."

"Concert tickets?"

"Yeah, for the one happening tonight. Thing is, Nishikata won so now he gets to take Takagi."

"I thought they weren't going out."

"They're not."

"Oh, so … you wanted to go to the concert?"

He glanced at her then looked away as his face began to turn red. "Yeah, but I'm happy for Nishikata."

"Well …" she turned away as she also began to blush. "I happen to have a spare ticket … if you're still interested in going."

Hamaguchi slowly turned back as his eyes went wide. '_This can't be real.' _He thought. '_So then this whole week … was for nothing?' _"Uh, yeah, I mean if you're offering."

"Thanks- I mean, cool, how about we meet up at my place before it starts?"

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Back in the classroom, Nishikata and Takagi were talking to Nakai and Mano who had delighted looks on their faces.

"You serious?" Mano exclaimed.

"Yeah, Nishikata was able to get two tickets, which means now we have two extra." Takagi explained.

"Sweet, thanks man." Nakai said.

Nishikata began scratching the back of his head, feeling a little bashful. "Well, truthfully, it was an accident. I had no idea that Takagi had already gotten tickets when I got these, so you should be thanking her as well."

"Wait a second." Mano began as she looked closer at Nishikata. "You were actually going to ask Takagi out?"

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Nishikata exclaimed. "I was …" He let out a sigh of defeat. "I was just trying to find an opportunity to get back at Takagi for always teasing me, but I didn't have time to think of _how _I was going to ask her without actually saying that." He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked away. "Not to mention that I didn't have time to think of anything either so … there's that."

"Yeah, sure." Nakai began. "So then we're all going as a group then?"

"That's the idea." Takagi answered.

Just then, the teacher walked in and everyone rushed to their seats. "We'll talk later." Takagi said before Mano and Nakai went to their seats.

As Nishikata sat down with one thought continuously going through his mind. '_Did I really have a chance at getting back at Takagi at this concert?' _"Hey, Takagi?" He asked just quiet enough so the teacher wouldn't hear."

"Yeah?"

"You said that I couldn't have gotten back at you at the concert … what did you mean by that?"

"Well, I would have seen it coming."

"How so?"

"Well, due to your contest, you would have had to tell me that you've been planning this since Monday, so it was unlikely that it was for a friendly reason, cause, by your own admittance, you only really started to see me as a friend yesterday."

"I only realized that you were a friend yesterday … though I do see your point."

"Yeah, meaning there were only two possibilities, one of them being that you were trying to play a trick on me."

"And the other one?"

She was silent for a moment as she looked at her book with what looked like a sad smile. "That you were actually asking me on a date." She smiled and tilted her head to the side. "Is that the case?"

Nishikata's face went bright red as before he quickly turned away. "No it's not. I guess I never really thought that part through." '_Based on that response, it's unlikely that she knows I've realized I'm in love with her.' _He paused, surprised at his own thoughts. '_That's something I never thought I would ever think. But let's see, there is a possibility that she, like everyone else, knew about it. That would also explain why she would tease me so much.' _He shook his head. '_No, she's not mean, so there's no way she could have known or she would probably be avoiding me … unless … she felt the same way.' _He shook his head again. '_No, it's not possible that she's already fallen for me, she couldn't fall for a guy like me just like that.' _He groaned and rolled his head. "_And I have to find some way to get her to fall for me, this is going to be a drag.'_


	22. Chapter 22

**Hi there, I have another chapter for yall and I feel as though this one is a little short. Doesn't matter though, a chapter is a chapter.**

**Rinto: No, he's still as predictable, there's just one different variable that Takagi isn't accounting for.**

* * *

The day had continued onward and Nishikata was now outside the candy shop, anxiously waiting for the others to arrive. "I managed to get here early, so it's no surprise that the others aren't here yet." He said as he looked around. "Man, I wish I could calm down." His mind was racing, trying and failing to think up ways to impress Takagi. "Why does it seem harder than one upping her?"

"Hey! Nishikata!" Called Nakai as he and Mano approached.

"Hey guys." Nishikata greeted back. "Did you by chance run into Takagi and Takagawa on your way here?"

"Huh?" Mano began. "I thought Takagi was coming here with you?"

"She said she had something to take care of beforehand and would be coming here after."

"Did she say what she had to do?"

"Something at the library, that's all I bothered to ask about."

"Hi guys!" Called another voice from down the street.

They all looked over to see Sumire making her way over, waving her hand with a smile on her face. "Hey! Takagawa!" Nishikata greeted.

"Huh?" Mano looked as Sumire before turning to look at Nishikata as Sumire approached. "I didn't know that you two knew each other."

"Oh, that's an interesting story." Nishikata said as he tried to hide a glare that he was shooting towards Sumire. "By the way Takagawa, when someone's over your shoulder, reading the conversation you're having with someone else, you may want to give a little more heads up than 'she's with me now' cause, someone might assume the conversation they're having with you is still private."

"Ops, I didn't even consider that." She replied with a smile.

"Something tells me you're lying."

"Wait, wait, wait." Mano began as she held her hands up. "What happened?"

"Oh, nothing much, just nishikata confessing his undying love for Takagi in a text message conversation that I was letting her watch."

"I DIDN'T CONFESS MY UNDYING LOVE!" Nishikata exclaimed. "I was just saying how much she meant to me."

"But … how did you two have each other's contact info?"

Sumire froze, trying to hide her panic behind a smile as Nishikata looked on in amusement. '_It would be so easy to get back at her right now … but I shouldn't.' _"It was a long week, and let's just say … one of us needed help."

"Oh, you mean with Takagi, right?" Nikai asked.

"That was one of the issues I was facing, yes." Nishikata said as he looked away.

"Well, that's nice of her." Mano said before she leaned to the side, as if looking at something behind Nishikata. "Is that … Takagi?"

Nishikata and Sumire turned around and as soon as he laid eyes on her, Nishikata felt his heart jump into his throat. She wasn't dressed any differently than her usual formal wear, black T-shirt and shorts, but just the sight of her made Nishikata feel flustered. '_Calm down, damn it!' _He thought to himself. "_Geez, how has it taken me so long to realize that I like her?' _Slowly but surely, he managed to calm himself down before anyone could notice.

"Hey guys." Takagi greeted. "So, everyone's here?"

"Yeah, I think that's everyone." Nishikata said as he looked around.

"All right, let's head to the bus stop then."

As the group began moving, Sumire hung back and placed a hand on Nishikata's shoulder. "I owe you one."

"I'd say after that stunt you pulled you owe me a bit more than one."

Sumire smiled sheepishly as she began walking ahead. "Well, it all turned out for the best, right?"

"What if it didn't?" He began walking as well. "Now come on, we've got a bus to catch."

"Right you are." Sumire ran to catch up with Takagim leaving Nishikata alone.

"So." Sumire began as she caught up to Takagi. "Are you excited?"

"You bet, I've been looking forward to this for a while."

She leaned closer and lowered her voice. "You mean only the concert or … you know what?"

Takagi giggled and shook her head. "It's way too soon, I doubt he's even noticed yet."

"Still, you have anything big planned?"

She shook her head. "Maybe if the chance appears I'll try, but it's been a long week and I don't want to force any more."

"You're just saying that because you're nervous."

"That is a supporting reason, yes, but I'm going to keep it calm today and only tease him about small things."

"I think it's a waste of an opportunity."

"I've gotten plenty out of this opportunity thank you."


	23. Chapter 23

**And now it's time for a new chapter, and for me to continue my writing for my next story. But first, the reviews.**

**Dapper64: I will**

**Rinto: It's not that she's easily shocked, but that she's also nervous about moving forward in their relationship. That's why she didn't consider said variable, or at least that's how I see it.**

* * *

The group had arrived at the concert venue and had made their way inside.

"So, where to first?" Nakai asked. "We still have some time before the concert actually starts so how about we grab some snacks?"

"That's going to have to wait." Nishikata said as he looked off to the side.

The others were confused at first, until they noticed Hamaguchi, along with Houjou, not too far away.

"Please don't make a scene." Takagi said as she tugged on Nishikata's sleeve. It was too late though, as Hamaguchi had also noticed Nishikata, and the two were now in a stare down.

"Hey!" Nishikata called out as he walked over. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Nishikata." Hamaguchi replied. "Yeah, it's actually a funny story."

"Due tell." He said as he got to them and stared him dead in the eye.

There was silence as the two boys stared each other down, each of them waiting for the other to make a move while most of the onlookers watched in confusion.

"Wait, what's going on?" Houjou asked.

"It's …" Hamaguchi looked at Houjou, then back at Nishikata, ready to panic.

As he stood there, Nishikata gave him a closed eyed smile and offered a hand. "How about we forget about the whole incident, seeing as it was mostly pointless anyway."

Hamaguchi was dumbfounded for a moment before smiling and taking Nishikata's hand. "Yeah, thanks-" Before he could finish, Nishikata pulled him and put his head right next to his ear.

"Don't do it again." He said with a smile that seemed almost menacing.

"Uh-huh."

Nishikata let go of Hamaguchi and walked back to the others who were also walking to him at this time.

"Uh." Houjou began as she looked around. "Could someone explain what just happened?"

"It's not important anymore." Nishikata said.

"You guys want to join us?" Takagi asked.

"Sure." Houjou replied.

"So uh, back to my question from earlier." Nakai began. "So do we want to get snacks or what?"

"Yeah, I could go for something quick." Hamaguchi began. "I mean we have some time left."

"Yeah, but we still need to find a place to stand before more people get here." Mano added.

"Then we'll split up for now." Nakai began. "Those of us who want can go to the snack stand, while the others go find a spot."

"Okay." Houjou said as she looked at Nakai and Hamaguchi. "So, who's going where?"

"Good question." Nakai turned to the others. "Anyone want to join us?"

As everyone remained quiet, Nishikata looked around nervously before slowly raising a hand. "I … would actually like to grab something small."

"Great, then we'll see you guys in a bit."

The guys began their walking to the snack stand while the girls made their way to the main concert area; the concert itself was an outdoor one, so it there weren't any actual seats, and it was early so there were still able to move through the crowd.

"There are more people here than I thought there'd be this early." Houjou said as they made their way through.

"Everyone wants to get close, and you need to get here early to do that." Takagi explained.

"I think I get it."

As they continued to make their way through the crowd, squeezing through here and there until they noticed a familiar face not too far away. "Yukari?" Takagi called out.

Yukari looked around, unsure of who it was who called to her until she saw Takagi and others. "Hey!" She called out as she worked her way to them. "I'm surprised I bumped into all of you … wait, where's-"

"Nishikata and the others went to grab some quick snacks."

"Oh, well that explains that." She smiled and scratched the back of her head. "Man, what a coincidence running into you guys right before the show starts."

"I know right."

"Would you like to join us?" Houjou asked. "I mean at this point it's the more the merrier."

"Sure."

Back with the other group, the guys had just placed their order and were now leaning against a nearby wall, waiting for it to be filled. "I can't believe it's finally here." Hamaguchi said as he looked off into the distance. "I need to make this chance matter, or it'll have all been for nothing."

"What chance might that be?" Nakai asked.

"DUH! I want to make Houjou my official girlfriend!"

Nishikata looked at Hamaguchi, then down. "This chance …" '_Should I take it?' _He clenched his fists and closed his eyes tight. '_Should I? I can't just give up.' _"NAKAI!" Nishikata exclaimed as he turned to face him. "I need advice; tell me how you confessed to Mano!"

Nakai looked concerned as Hamaguchi leaned forward and looked at him. "I'd like to know that as well, actually."

"Well … the thing is …" He scratched the back of his head nervously. "She's the one who asked if I wanted to go out with her."

Nishikata and Hamaguchi looked on in shock as their mouths hung open. '_I should have guessed.' _ "Well, you have to have some advice, right?"

"Sorry, I'm not really that great at romance." He paused, then looked at Nishikata. "Wait, why do you of all people need advice?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah mister, 'I'll deny my crush on Takagi until my dying day' what do you need advice for?" Hamaguchi asked.

Nishikata looked down as he began grinding his teeth. '_Well … I should have seen this coming … maybe … I should just tell them.' _"I haven't been denying it, I just … hadn't realized it until … recently."

"DUD!" Hamaguchi exclaimed.

"Not so loud!" Nishikata retorted. "Anyway, I've been … at a complete loss with the whole thing. I've never been able to get the better of her, or even surprise her, so how am I supposed to get her to like me?"

"That's … not a question I can help answer." Nakai answered. "I mean from the sounds of it, all you can do is be forward."

"I know."

They stood there in silence for a moment until the lady from behind the counter poked her head out and looked at them. "Order 147?"

"That's us." Nishikata said as he pushed himself off the wall. "Let's get this over with."


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey, so I almost forgot to post this chapter today, but I remembered ... so ... yeah ... enjoy in good health.**

**Domi2125: Gracias, hago mi mejor esfuerzo**

* * *

The guys were making their way through the crowd of people, trying to join up with the rest of their group with little success. "Damn it, why are there so many people?" Hamaguchi asked.

"Even if we knew where they were, we'd be lucky to get to them in time." Nakai added.

Nishikata pulled out his phone and began looking through his contacts. "I'm going to call Takagi and see if she can't help us get closer."

"Wait, you have her number?!" Hamaguchi asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I mean … we are close." He said as he blushed. "Though it was kinda embarrassing to ask her for it."

"Damn it!" Hamaguchi exclaimed as he looked away and clenched his fist. "How do you two always end up ahead of me?"

"Uh …" They both said as they looked at each other.

"Mano really likes me, so I've never really had to make any moves." Nakai explained.

"Yeah, and Takagi and I hang around each other for other reasons." Nishikata paused for a moment. "But I wouldn't say that I'm further along than you are with Houjou."

"Why'd you just say two statements that directly contradict each other?"

"Because we're just friends-"

"That's still a step ahead of me." Hamaguchi sighed. "Man, sometimes you are just sad."

"Sad?"

"Yeah, your problem is you lack confidence."

"I am well aware of that, Takagi uses that to tease me on a daily basis." He went back to his phone. "I'm going to call her now."

Meanwhile, Takagi and the others had found a place to stand that was close enough to the stage, yet just far enough away that it wasn't too crowded. However, time seemed to be going by faster than expected. "Where are they?" Mano asked. "I'm worried that they won't get here before the concert starts."

"Yeah, I know how you feel." Takagi said as she looked back.

"Wait a second." Houjou began as she looked at Takagi with a smug expression. "Takagi is worried about something? This is a first."

"Well yeah, I mean back during the summer festival, Nishikata and I got separated just before the fireworks started and didn't find each other again until just after it ended."

Houjou was silent as she turned back to face the stage. "Okay, that makes sense, sorry."

They continued to wait, until finally, Takagi's phone rang. "Huh?" She said as she pulled it out of her pocket. "It's Nishikata."

"You have his number?" Houjou asked as Takagi answered it.

"Nishikata? … yeah, we're not at the stage, we're about … a fourth of the way from it … kinda in the middle …" A sly smile appeared on Takagi's face. "Oh, you can't wait to meet up with us?" Takagi laughed for a bit before wiping her eye. "I know, I know, I'm really looking forward to watching it with you as well … well-being friends is one reason … not telling … we'll be on the lookout for you. See you soon." She hung up the phone and turned around to look for the guys.

"Hey, Takagi?" Houjou began. "Quick question, how oblivious is that boy?"

"It's not that he's oblivious, he's just in denial. He's so nervous that he hasn't even realized, or accepted his own feelings. To be perfectly honest though, I can wait till he's ready."

"You're more patient than I am." Mano said.

A few moments later, the guys finally came into view. "HEY!" Mano said as she waved her arm. "We're over here!"

The guys made their way over and soon enough, the two groups had finally rejoined.

"Huh? Amakawa?" Hamaguchi began. "You're here as well?"

"Well you guys did give me a ticket for being the reff for that contest you held." She began as she fixed her glasses. "Which, based on you being here, was really a waste of time for you guys, wasn't it?"

"Yeah … Houjou had tickets so … I guess in the end it didn't matter all that much."

"I kinda feel a little bad about Takao though." Nishikata said. "But he didn't have much chance of being here anyway."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too worried about him."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"Well …"

_Earlier_

Takao and Kimura were at school, changing their shoes while Kimura was lecturing Takao. "You shouldn't have done something like that to Nishikata, he's our friend, even if you were competing."

"I know, I feel bad enough about it as it is, you can stop rubbing it in."

"Hey!" Shouted someone from nearby. They both looked over to see Mina pointing at them angrily and Sanae standing right behind her. "You guys owe us for stalking us the other day!"

"We weren't stalking you." Takao explained.

"Yukari said we can make you take us out for ice cream for stalking us!"

"Ice cream?" Kimura asked. "I could go for some ice cream."

"Yeah but-"

"Don't think you're getting out of this." Sanae stated. "You owe us ice cream stalkers."

"I ... " Takao let out a sigh of defeat.

_Back to the present_

"I'm sure that he's having a good time."

"Anyway." Hamaguchi began. "Was this really the best place? I mean there's so many people here I can't even see the stage."

"Huh?" Houjou said as she looked back towards the stage. "There are a lot more people here than I originally thought there'd be."

"Maybe one of us should go see if there's a spot with a better view." Nakai began. "Hold on, I'll be back."

"NO!" Mano exclaimed as she grabbed his sleeve. "Maybe someone else should go."

As everyone stood there in silence, Nishikata glanced over at Takagi, then down to her hand. '_Should … should I? I may not get another chance like this.'_

"I'll do it." Yukari said as she stepped forward.

"No." Nishikata interrupted. He took a deep breath and grabbed Takagi's hand, causing her to look at it surprised. "We'll go … I mean … if that's okay with Takagi."

"I'm fine with it." She said with a smile.

"Okay, let's get going."

The two of them walked off while Hamaguchi turned to the side furious. "Damn, it." He said under his breath. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Huh?" Houjou said as she turned to him. "Did you say something?"

"No, nothing!"

Meanwhile, Nishikata and Takagi were walking closer to the stage, trying to find a better spot. "Man, it's getting hard to move around."

"Hey, Nishikata?"

"I'm holding your hand again, I know, but I don't want to get separated from you in this crowd."

"I know that." Takagi began. "But why did you want me to come with you specifically?"

Nishikata stopped dead in his tracks as he slowly turned back to look at Takagi. She was smiling, like she usually does, and Nishikata felt his blood rush to his face. '_Oh crap, that was too obvious! She's going to find out!' _"I … we came here together and … I wanted us to stay together … that's it."

"Hmmmm?" She smiled brightly as she looked at him as if knowing something he didn't. "You sure that's the only reason?"

"Yes, I'm sure." He hissed as he turned around and continued walking.'_Why is she asking me if that's the only reason?'_

"Then why are you blushing?"

"Because it's hot out here, that's it."

"Oh? Are you sure it's not because you like me?"

Nishikata stopped as his mind went into panic mode. '_She knows! she knows!' SHE KNOWS!_

"Hey, this is a good spot." She said interrupting his thought process.

"Huh?" He glanced around and managed to see the stage clearly. "I guess it is, should we call the others?"

"Um, I don't think that's the best idea." She said as she got closer to him. "There's not much room here for more than just the two of us."

Nishikata looked around and saw that she was very right; there was so little room that they actually had to squeeze together somewhat to fit. "Oh, so … I guess … should we go back?"

"No." She wrapped her arms around his stomach and placed her head on his shoulder as she looked towards the stage where the band was now coming out. "There's not enough time, and besides." She glanced towards Nishikata and looked him in the eye. "I like it when it's just the two of us. Don't you Nishikata?"

Nishikata felt his heart rate begin to speed up. '_She … she's known.'_

Back with the other group, the crowd had moved some, allowing most of them to see the stage.

"I can't take it." Sumire said as she looked around. "They should have been back by now."

"Takagawa." Yukari began. "You knew they weren't actually going to come back, right?"

"Yeah, but I still want to see what happens." She took out her phone and began making her way into the crowd.

"Wait! What's with the phone?"

"I want pictures." She said before she disappeared.

"So … does anyone want to tell me why they were never coming back?" Nakai asked.

"Hey, Nakai?" Mano began as she tugged on his sleeve. "I can't see, can I sit on your shoulders?"


	25. Chapter 25

**So a not so important note here, when I was writing this story, I had some intention of having this chapter be accompanied by an actual song. The problem came with the band I chose at the beginning, and that I didn't much research before picking it (my bad), only that one of the members of the band sang all the intros and outros. End result, any of the introes or outroes … could work, but you don't need to have a song playing in the background for this chapter.**

**Rinto: As someone who's been in his position before, self doubt can afflict many a young boy, though I agree, with Takagi being less than subtle, he may be a bit oblivious.**

**Domi2125: No estoy tan seguro de que estarás buscando a este**

* * *

The first song had just ended, and Nishikata and Takagi were watching, eagerly awaiting the following song. "They're better than I expected." Nishikata began. "And that's saying a lot."

"Yeah, I really got into them because of one of the members, but I really like them as a whole."

"One of them?" Nishikata asked. "You mean the one that sang that song we listened to … after the treasure hunt?"

"You remembered?"

Nishikata's face went red. "Well … I … I looked up the song after … thinking it might come in handy for getting back at you at some point."

"Hmmm?" She looked at him with a sly smile.

"Well, it almost worked!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She looked back to the stage as Nishikata looked at her.

_'She's so cute … but, if she knows about how I feel … then why hasn't she said anything?'_

"You know." She said as she glanced towards him. "This almost feels like a date."

"A-a-a-a … date?!" Nishikata asked as his face went red again. "It's … it's not a-" _'Wait Nishikata, there may be a better way to handle this now.' _"Well … do you think it's a date?"

"Hm?" She looked at him curiously. "That's an odd response coming from you."

_'WRONG WAY! WRONG WAY!' _"I mean … with the others who came with us … it's not technically a date … even if we're not with them."

"I guess you have a point." She leaned closer to him. "Did you want to make it a date then?"

"Huh?"

"Just the two of us." She leaned even closer to him. "Alone together." She leaned even closer now that their faces were mere centimeters apart. "Enjoying our time"

"I-I-I-I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't." She leaned back and looked ahead again. "Not yet anyway."

Nishikata froze as her words went through his head. _'Yet? Does that mean … she doesn't know that I've realized yet? If that's the case then … wait, I need to know for sure.' _"Hey Takagi, can I ask you something?"

"Hm?" She turned to him a little surprised. "Sure, but make it quick, the next song is about to start."

"Okay um … you said … you never lie to me, right? I mean, aside from that one time when you found out that I like 100% unrequited love."

"Yeah."

"Well … why is that?"

She smiled and turned to him as the music started playing. "Because I can't help but tease you, but one of these days … there's something I want to say to you, and I don't want you to think that it's anything but true."

Nishikata's face went red again. "Wha … never lying to me … all for one thing?"

"It's that important." She said with a smile.

Nishikata sighed and looked down. "I … don't suppose … you could just tell me it now?"

"Hmmmm?" She looked at him with a coy smile. "Nishikata, how about a contest?"

"A … contest?"

"Yeah." She leaned closer to him. "You'll win," She leaned even closer to him to the point where their lips were nearly touching. "If you can kiss me before this song ends."

Nishikata's heart jumped into his throat as his words ceased to work. _'K-K-K-K-KISS!? I have to … kiss her? Before the song ends?' _He turned away from her and looked at the stage. _'I could kill two birds with one stone. The only reason she would consider such a game would be … she doesn't know that I've realized me feelings for her yet.' _He looked at her and his muscles failed to move. _'This feels harder than it would have been before.'_

Elsewhere, Sumire was making her way through the crowd, trying to find Nishikata and Takagi. "Damn it, where could those two have gone?"

She continued to look for a short time until finally spotting her friends a short distance away. _'There you two are.' _She got closer yet didn't make her presence known.

Nishikata was still looking at Takagi, shocked about her recent challenge. _'I have to kiss her, okay, I can do that. I want to do that, right?' _He looked at her lips as his heart rate spiked again. _'I totally can't do that!' _

He looked down at her hand, which was still in his, and tried to ease himself. _'Why would she make this challenge after that statement about something she wanted to tell me? Does this mean … that she does like me?' _He took a deep breath and tried to ease his mind. _'So … if that's the case … then … I should do it, right?' _He tried to move but his body still refused to do anything. _'Crap, maybe she just knows how uneasy I am about this and wanted to tease me about it.'_

"Hey." Takagi began. "Nervous?"

"Y-yeah." He squeezed out.

"I thought so." She reaffirmed her grip on his hand and smiled. "Well, I'll be right here when your ready."

_'When she's … ready?' _Nishikata let go of Takagi's hand as his ability to move his body came back to him. _'This Is my only chance, I have an excuse and it sounds like she wants me to.' _"Takagi?"

"Hm?" He placed his hand on her shoulder and turned her so that they were facing each other. "Nishikata?"

_'It's too late to turn back now.' _He closed his eyes and placed his other hand on her other shoulder.

Takagi's face began turning red as Nishikata's face slowly began to approach hers. _'I can't believe I'm doing this, how far away from her am I? Should I open my eyes? No, I can't, what am I supposed to do when our lips touch? Am I thinking about this too much?'_

They drew closer and closer, and slowly, the music came to a stop. "Huh?" Nishikata opened his eyes to see Takagi's blushing face and look of complete shock.

They both stood there in silence for a moment as the world around them seemed to disappear. "That … was close." Takagi said as she forced a smile. "You almost won."


	26. Chapter 26

**So this story is quickly approaching the end, and soon, I will need to start posting my next story. Maybe I'll take a week off, but I also have to post my valentines day story which I now have damn it. Now for the ever loved reviews.**

**Rinto: Well, I'm fairly sure Nishikata was about less than a second away from kissing his future wife when the song ended and he lost his excuse to kiss her.  
**

**qWescas: Bueno, hoy estoy publicando, ¿no?**

**Domi2125:** **Gracias**

* * *

Nishikata just stared at her, feeling more defeated than ever before. '_I … lost?'_

"I have to say though, I didn't think you could actually come that close." She eased up a little and her smile softened and became a little more genuine. "You really have changed."

"I still lost." He said before letting go of her shoulders and backing up slightly. '_Damn, why did I hesitate?'_

"Still, I'm going to have to try harder to tease you now."

Takagi began to turn away as Nishikata felt the full weight of his failure. '_She looks so sad … why couldn't I do it?' _Another thought occurred to him that made his eyes go wide. '_Wait, why can't I still do it? The contest is over but … I can still confess … I'm going to regret this as soon as I realize how embarrassing it is … I better hurry then' _"Takagi?"

She paused, then turned back to him. "What is it?"

'_I can do this.' _Nishikata thought to himself as his heart pounded against his chest. '_I CAN DO THIS!' _He quickly wiped the sweat from his palms onto his shirt and took one final breath and closed his eyes.

"Nishi-" Takagi was cut off as Nishikata wrapped his arms around the small of her back as he pulled her close, pressing his lips against hers. He instantly felt a surge of electricity rush through his whole body as his heart began pounding even harder than before. He felt a sense of bliss and accomplishment, but there was also something else, something off.

Nishikata quickly opened his eyes to see Takagi's eyes were still wide open. He quickly let go and jumped back and saw Takagi look almost horrified as she quickly stepped back while covering her mouth and nose with both her hands. '_Shit, did I misread this? Damn it, have I ever read her correctly?' _He back up in shock, his feeling of joy and accomplishment replaced by compleat despair. "I …" He bowed his head. "I'm sorry." He ran off into the crowd, leaving Takagi alone. '_Damn it, why did I do that? I shouldn't have risked it! I shoulnd't have been so stupid!'_

Meanwhile, Takagi was only now overcoming the shock and began to process what had just happened. "Wait … oh no, what have I done?"

"Seriously?!" Came a voice from behind her as someone began to push her forward. "The boy you've been into for a few years kisses you and you just stand there like an idiot? You're supposed to be more confident than that!"

"Sumire?" She asked. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough."

"Have you been spying on us?"

"Is now really the time?"

Takagi sighed and shook her head. "Yeah … I need to find him."

She began working her way through the crowd in the direction he ran off in, as Sumire stood there and smiled. "I can't believe she froze up like that in front of Nishikata." She turned around and began making her way back to the main group. "Not sure what he'll be happier about, that she loves him, or that he got to see her totally caught off guard."

Meanwhile, Takagi was desperately looking for her lost crush, squeezing her way through the crowd, hoping to catch sight of him. '_Where could you have gone Nishikata?'_ She stopped and placed a hand on her chin. '_Let's think about this, he's panicking and surprised me, but he's still Nishikata, so I should be able to figure this out. He's not going to stay in this crowd, he's going to go somewhere he can be alone. But he's not going to leave completely because his other friends are still here That means he has to be somewhere outside the main area. I think I might have a good idea where to start looking.'_

Meanwhile, Nishikata was sitting against a wall outside the main area with his arms crossed over his knees. "It's not like … I really expected much else." He buried his head in his arms and closed his eyes. "I guess I lose again … just like always."

"You don't always lose." Came a voice from right in front of him. He looked up to see Takagi standing there with her hands behind her back. "You have a few wins."

"Oh, hey Takagi." He said weakly as he pushed his way to his feet.

"Hey, Nishikata." She began. "You … ran off."

"Yeah … I did." He looked away as his face began to turn red. "Hey, is it possible … that we could ... forget that whole … kiss thing ever happened?"

She tilted her head and looked at him curiously. "I … can't really forget about my first kiss that easily, especially when it hasn't even been five minutes."

Nishikata let out a sigh. "I was afraid of that."

"Besides." She leaned closer to him. "Even if I did forget about my first kiss, how am I supposed to forget about the second one?"

"Huh?" Nishikata began as he looked at her. "What second one?"

She placed a hand on his shoulder before wrapping both her arms around the back of his neck and pulling him closer. "This one." She pressed her lips to his, causing Nishikata's mind to start running at a million miles per hour.

'_What the heck? I thought I read that wrong. Wait, does that mean she was just surprised? Did I actually surprise Takagi? She's still kissing me!'_

She separated from him ever so slightly and looked at him annoyed. "Stop thinking so much and just kiss me."

Nishikata was surprise at first, but quickly overcame it as he wrapped his arms around the small of her back as they pressed their lips against one another. At first, it was small, the two of them gently pressing against one another, but soon they began to hold each other tighter, and the kiss grew in intensity and passion.

After a few more moments, the two of them quickly separated as they both began gasping for air. "Wow." Nishikata said between breaths. "That was … wow."

"It was definitely better than I expected." She replied. She placed her head under his chin and closed her eyes. "This was well worth the wait."

"Yeah, you can say that again."

She rested her head on his chest as he placed a hand on her back. "Nishikata?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't assume this means I'm going to stop teasing you."

He smiled and placed a hand on her head. "Well, don't assume this means I'm going to stop trying to get back at you."

"You can try."


	27. Chapter 27

**Hi there, so this is the second to last chapter so I should probably start thinking about my next story. That's a 'me' problem though, let's take care of those reviews.**

**qWescas: Much appreciated friend.**

****mikaela,finch** : I've read all three believe it or not, well, mostly. I haven't finished with the third but ... no, that's about it.**

* * *

A short time earlier, Takao and Kimura were at the sandy shop with Mina and Sanae being forced to treat them to ice cream. "Why are we doing this again?" Takao asked as he and Kimura sat on the outside bench.

"You have other plans?" Kimura asked.

"No." Takao said sounding defeated.

"HEY!" Mina exclaimed. "I've picked one out!"

"Hold on, I'll be right there." Kimura said as he stood up and walked into the shop.

"I wonder what type of strange flavor she's going to get."

"You know that's not very nice." Sanae said as she walked out of the shop.

"Ah, I'm … sorry?"

She looked at him without changing her expression, then turned back to the door. "You coming in or what? We've picked out what we want."

"Oh, I didn't understand what she meant." He got up and followed her inside where Mina and Kimura had already paid for theirs.

"Canned yams, I bet this taste good." Mina exclaimed.

"Who makes these things?" Takao asked as he and Sanae passed them.

"No idea." Sanae said as she pulled out two popsicles and handed one to Takao. "Here."

"What is it?"

"Wasabi."

Takao stood there in disbelief as Sanae walked up to the counter. "Hey, you coming?"

"Yeah, I'm coming." He said as he walked up to the counter.

He paid for the two popsicles and began making their way out. As they walked outside, they found Kimura and Mina sitting on the bench, the latter laughing.

"You're right about that." Mina began. "You know, we should totally hang out more often."

"That sounds like a good idea, how about we eat lunch together sometime?" Kimura responded.

"That's a great idea!"

"Wow, Yukari would love to see this." Sanae said as she took a bite out of her popsicle.

"Huh?" Takao asked. "Why's that?"

"She'll swoon over the slightest hint of romance, it's kinda her obsession."

"Them?" Takao asked as he looked at the two in front of him. "I mean if you look hard enough, maybe."

"That's her specialty."

"Gee, I wonder what she would think of us then."

Sanae glanced over at Takao and just stared. "..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"What exactly do you mean by that?" She asked with a slight leer."

"NOTHING!" He exclaimed as he held his hands up in defense.

She looked at him for a moment before taking a bite out of her popsicle. "Coward." Sanae paused, then glanced at Takao's popsicle. "You going to eat that?"

"Huh?" He glanced down at the popsicle in his hand. "Oh right." He took a small bite out of it and instantly squirmed at the sour taste.

"You'll get used to it."

Back in the present, the concert had reached its conclusion and people were now exiting the main area. "I'm sorry I costed us our spot." Nishikata said as he and Takagi walked out of the main area.

"Don't be." She took his hand and interlocked their fingers. "It was worth it in the end."

"Yeah." Nishikata said as he began scratching the back of his head with his free hand. "Actually, a lot more things are making a lot more sense now."

"Like what?"

"Like Yyu've probably known that I've had feelings for you longer than I have?"

"That depends, how long have you known that you loved me?"

Nishikata's face went red. "I … since yesterday?"

"Then yes, I've definitely known longer." Nishikata looked away nervously as Takagi laughed. "But seriously, I'm glad you realized it."

"Yeah … I'm just sorry it took me so long."

"No …" Her expression turned down. "You don't have to apologize for that."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you remember the many times when I would start doing something romantic, then I would start teasing you?"

"It's kinda hard to forget."

"Yeah well … many of those times … I wanted to just … tell you right then and there." Nishikata began to blush again as Takagi continued. "I wanted to tell you that I really did like you, but then I would always cave and play it off as teasing you." She sighed as her smile disappeared. "Like I said, I really can't help but tease you sometimes, it's a very big flaw and a bad habit."

Nishikata smiled, took Takagi's other hand, and turned her to face him. "Takagi, I love you." Her face turned bright red as Nishikata let go of her hands and wrapped them around the small of her back. "Flaws and all."

She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and smiled. "You know there are a lot of people around us, right?"

Nishikata blushed as he looked around, only now remembering that they were still in a crowd. "I …"

Takagi laughed as she pressed her forehead against his. "We should probably continue this later anyway."

"Yeah, probably."

Takagi tilted her head to look at something that was behind Nishikata. "Looks like the others found us."

"HUH!?" Nishikata exclaimed as he spun around. The rest of the group was there, but from the looks of it, they hadn't seen the two of them yet. "Oh, they haven't noticed us yet."

"Would that necessarily be a bad thing?" She asked as she whispered into his ear, causing his face to turn bright red.

"I … Uh … well, it's not but …"

"Wanna make a game out of it?" Takagi asked.

"Huh? What did you have in mind?"

"We place a bet on which of them will notice it first, each of us will choose three of them and the winner will get to choose where we go on a date tomorrow."

"A … date?" He said nervously. "Wait, sorry, old habit. But if that's the case, this means we're … officially-"

"Boyfriend and girlfriend?" She replied as she gave him a koi smile. "If you want."

Nishikata blushed severally as he nodded. "Yeah, I would like that."

"Great, the first person I choose is Yukari."

Nishikata's face froze. '_Damn, of course Takagi would pick the person with the highest odds of noticing. It's not the end yet, I could still get lucky if I make the right picks.' _"Okay, believe that Takagaawa might be the first to notice."

Her smile turned into a sly one. "Just so you know, they have to actually say it."

"Yeah, and?"

"I didn't mention this before, but Sumire actually saw you kiss me."

Nishikata's face turned bright red again. '_She … what?!'_

"Do you want to change your bet?"

Nishikata shook his head. "No, if she brings it up, even by asking only one of us, then that counts, right?"

Takagi smiled and nodded. "I was actually hoping that you wouldn't notice that. Anyway, my second guess would be Mano."

"Okay … then …" '_Houjou isn't likely to ask something like that … at least I don't think. Nakai has frequently poked fun at my feelings for Takagi … but he might not notice that we're dating.' _"I bet Hamaguchi might be the one to notice."

"Oh? How do you figure that?"

"Well, he said that he's been jealous of Me and Nakai for a while, so I figured that it's probably the safest bet out of the remaining three."

"Then I guess my last pick is Nakai."

"Which leaves me with Houjou."

"Yup, now let's catch up to them and see which of us wins."

She took his hand and the two of them made their way over to the group, waving to catch their attention. "Hey!" Nishikata called out.

"Huh?" Nakai said as everyone looked over. "Hey! Nishikata, Takagi, we thought you guys got lost or something when you didn't come back."

Takagi smiled sheepishly as she scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, well, the only spot we could find was rather small and the concert was about to start so … we're sorry."

Nishikata noticed a few of them glance down at where he was holding Takagi's hand. "Yeah, a lot of things happened." '_Great, I've set the bait, now it's only a matter of time till one of them bites.'_

"No worries." Nakai began. "The crowd moved some, and we were able to get a good view anyway." He placed a hand on his back and began rubbing it. "I think I may have pulled something though."

"Sorry." Mano said sheepishly.

"Anyway, let's get going." The entire group began walking towards the exit, as Nishikata and Takagi lagged behind them slightly.

'_Based on their reactions earlier, they've noticed already, so It's only a matter of time till one of them mentions it now. It's all up to chance, but hopefully I'll win.' _He began to panic as he realized something. '_Wait, if they all noticed, then it's whoever mentions it first … which … is most likely going to be … any of the three that Takagi chose.' _He glanced over at Takagi and smiled. '_But in the end … I've already won in a way.'_


	28. Chapter 28

**And so we arrive at the final chapter, I won't keep you any longer, but I will make something at the end.**

**Rinto: Yeah, he wins in ways that he doesn't realize all the time.**

* * *

The group was on the bus and was headed home, with Takagi and Nishikata sitting next to each other, Nakai and Mano sitting in front of them, Hamaguchi and Houjou behind them, and Sumire and Yukari across the aisle. In addition, it was very quiet, and Takagi was asleep on Nishikata's shoulder. '_She's so beautiful when she's asleep.' _He placed a hand on the side of her head and began to rub it. '_And her hair is so soft.' _He froze as he realized what thought went through his head. '_Ack, even if we are dating, she'll still think I'm a pervert for having thoughts like that.'_

"Definitely." Takagi said in her sleep.

'_And of course, she's reading my mind.' _He moved his hand to her shoulder and simply pulled her closer.

"Hey." Came Nakai's voice from over the seat in front of them. "So, what happened when you two were alone?"

'_And of course, it's Nakai who's going to bring it up.' _"Oh, just … some stuff."

"Oh really? Cause you two look very close right now."

He glanced at Takagi, and he could swear that her smile had gotten bigger. "You … could say that."

"Nakai." Mano began as she pulled on his sleeve. "Maybe we should let them be, yeah?"

"So are you two dating now or something?"

Takagi wrapped her arms around Nishikata's solder and pulled her cheek right next to his. "I win." She whispered.

"Are you really asleep?" There was no response, so he turned back to Nakai. "Well … to put it simply … yeah, we are."

"Wait, what did I just hear?" Hamaguchi asked as he poked his head around the seat.

"I said that Takagi and I are dating."

"How?!"

"Well … to put it simply … I kissed her."

"Congratulations!" Mano exclaimed.

"That's so romantic!" Yukari cooed.

"Please keep it down. You're going to wake her up."

"Fine." Mano began. "But I'm really happy for you two."

Nishikata blushed and turned away. "T-thanks … I'm actually really lucky to have the most-" He paused as he already felt the glares coming his way. "One of the most amazing girls in the entire school as my girlfriend."

"Hey Nakai." Mano began as she turned to him. "Would you say that you're also lucky?"

"Huh?" He asked as he looked at her.

"I asked, would you say that you're also lucky?"

"I … y-yeah, of course." He ducked back below the top of the seat as Mano followed.

The bus ride soon came to an end, and the group began to depart.

"Takagi?" Nishikata began as he tried to wake her up. "It's time to wake up, we need to go." She opened her eyes with her usual playful smile. "You were awake the whole time, weren't you?"

"I was trying to sleep." She said as she stood up. "But yeah."

They walked off the bus and the group bid each other farewell. "See you guys Monday." Nakai said as he and Mano left.

"Yeah, we'll see you all Monday." Houjou said before she and Hamaguchi separated from them.

"Thank you guys for letting me join you." Yukari began. "I'll catch you later."

"I should probably get going as well." Sumire said.

Nishikata and Takagi were now alone together. "So, shall we?" Takagi asked as she held out a hand.

"Yeah." Nishikata took her hand and they began their walk home.

"So, back on the bus." Takagi looked at Nishikata and smiled. "You were bragging, weren't you?"

His face turned red as he tried to look away. "I … they asked … and I just told the truth."

Takagi laughed as Nishikata's face turned even redder. "Geez Nishikata, there's no need to hide it."

"Yeah." He scratched the back of his head as they continued making their way down the street. "Oh, I almost forgot, what was that thing you wanted to say?"

"Huh?"

"Earlier, you said you never lie because there's something you wanted to say that you didn't want me to think is false."

"Oh, right." She scratched her chin. "I never answered that, did I?" She stopped and turned to look at him. "Well, there were actually two things."

"Two?"

"Yup, and the first is-" She grabbed his shoulders and put her mouth right next to his ear. "I love you."

For a moment, Nishikata's face went red, before he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. "I love you too." They stood there for a moment in each other's embrace. "So what's the second thing?"

She smiled brightly as a small blush appeared on her face. "Yes."

"Huh?"

She let go of him and spun around. "But that's not for a _very _long time."

"I don't understand."

"You will." She spun around and leaned closer to him. "When we're both ready." She turned around again and started walking.

"Takagi, come on, what are you talking about?" He asked as he chased after her.

Takagi let out a laugh and glanced over her shoulder at her boyfriend. "Not telling!"

* * *

**And so concludes my first story for this fandome. I hope you all enjoyed it, and my next one is already written, but is in need of many edits and fixes before I can post the first chapter. I do have a side project that I'm already posting on Wattpad, but at this point, I'm not sure if, or when, I will post it here.**


End file.
